


And We Stumble Blindly On

by Innocentfighter



Category: One Piece
Genre: Blind!Ace, Blind!character, Canon-Typical Violence, Drowning, Eyesight taken away, Gen, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pairing in later chapters, Physical Disability, References to Drugs, Serious Injuries, Violence, family building, first chapter is a prologue, living with it, over use of italics, questionable medical knowledge, unwanted flirting, will tag as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-29 16:57:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 84,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3903928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocentfighter/pseuds/Innocentfighter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the age of ten Ace learned that he was going to lose his vision, he was scared but he knew that he had to pull through.  When Ace was seventeen his vision was completely blurry, but it didn't stop him from sailing out and accomplishing his dream. By the time he was eighteen he had a crew and was entering the grand line. using his Devil's Fruit's unique ability, and a few months after that he comes across his goal. Too bad the fates weren't going to let him live his life the way he wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> *sweats nervously* Look another chapter story. Uhh well yeah, I saw a few blind!Ace fics and I really liked them so I though that I would jump on the bandwagon. I'm going to say this now 1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please. 2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace. 3.) I am going to update this irregularly, and I'm telling you this now because I know how my life is, I'll try to get chapters out as soon as I can but there's other stuff I have to do.  
> Some other things, I'm pretty sure that once I hit a certain point I'm just going to alter cannon slightly if the story continues to that point. Its not beta read and I am only human so I can't catch every mistake, if you see one you can't ignore tell me and I'll fix it. I'm posting this late after getting up early so I'm sure I missed some. This is really long, so I don't know if I'll be able to keep it this length but I will try to.  
> Now that we're done with that we can move on to the story, and I'm going to post these on the bottom and keep them there! Now, let's begin.  
> I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE  
> See you at the bottom

It started out innocent enough, his brother’s faces were a little less defined at night. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, and it was easy enough to brush off as tiredness or lack of light. Perfectly reasonable.  Besides, his brothers didn’t notice, he was fine.

But, as with all things in Ace’s life, it got worse. It was two years after Sabo’s death. Thankfully he had moved back to Dadan’s place there was a nice feeling about having a roof over his head that wouldn’t leak at the smallest amount of rain, but one morning he found that it was blurry.

Ace blinked his eyes, figuring it was just the last remnants of sleep, he had been startled awake, and he guess it had something to do with Luffy clinging to his legs. After a few more seconds of vigorously blinking he found that his eyes had cleared somewhat but the ceiling was still  blurry. With a frown Ace turned his head, the window seemed to blend into the wall, and the planks looked like a solid piece of wood.

His frown deepened, it had been awhile since he last noticed a drastic change with his eyesight. There was something about this situation that didn’t sit well with him, and during his time in the jungle he learned that listening to your instincts would always prove to be the correct thing to do. He needed to see a doctor, as much as that pained him to admit. Only there were two problems with that: How would he sneak into the city and how would he stop Luffy from following him?

That answer came to him in the form of Makino. She came up the mountain the very same morning bringing with her clothes and food. It was easy to get her to promise to watch over Luffy for him, not that Luffy would care much about his whereabouts so long as there was meat in the general vicinity.

Ace didn’t know how he should feel about his ranking in his brother’s life, at the moment; however, it worked in his favor.

He was admittedly afraid of walking around the jungle with his blurry eyesight, he couldn’t see what was ahead and when he squinted he couldn’t see what was next to him. Even though he had grown up in this jungle, it always changed. Those caught unaware would most likely die.

It was for that reason he decided to take the bandits hunting trail, he’d be able to get at least halfway to the city in relative safety. His problem would come after he reached the end of the path. Then it’d be a long way down. He’d get there in a few hours, and most likely  he would be back before it got dark outside. Ace knew that he wouldn’t be able to leave the city if it was too late in the day, it was risky enough in the jungle during the day but at night it was a different story, throw in failing eyesight, there was simply no way he could make it home. Luffy would understand, if worse came to be.

The trip to town went as well as expected, for once in Ace’s life. Nothing but humans would go near a well traveled path, and even humans were scarce this far into the jungle. When the trail did end, Ace stuck to walking in the middle of the path. His pace dramatically slowed as he tried to feel for any obstacles in his way, the last thing he needed was a sprained ankle. The trip did end up taking longer than he expected, and by the time he hit the Gray Terminal, the sun was already in the middle of the day.

Town was easier to navigate, aside from trying to avoid running into people, there were no sudden dips, turns, or wild beasts to be worried about. Now, the only thing that was hindering him was finding a doctor. He was grateful that he had enough foresight to grab some money, the doctors would be more willing to see someone paying than a street rat.

A few hours of wandering around blindly, both literally and figuratively, Ace finally came across a clinic, it was the only one he found and he wasn’t about to be picky. He entered.

There wasn’t a bell, and the lady at the desk seemed absorbed in some paperwork. Ace walked straight over to her and coughed. The lady, now identified as a nurse looked up, she seemed surprised to find a kid standing at her desk.

She smiled, and it was filled with false warmth. “Are you lost? If you are the station is just down the road a little way, you can’t miss it.”

“Not lost. Here to see the doctor.” Ace replied firmly.

The nurse's eyes widened. “Well, do you have a way to pay?”

Ace thought about answering in the affirmative, but decided that she would need visual proof before she let him see the doctor. So, instead he pulled out some of the coins in his pocket.

She seemed to be even more surprised that he had money. “Well, I can’t turn away a patient. Please have a seat. Also can I have your name?”

“Ac-” He cleared his throat. “Mason.”

He didn’t want people to figure out that he was one of the kids that used to cause havoc around here. Even though they hadn’t done anything recently, he could guess that there were still some pretty upset people.

“Alright Mason, I’ll call for you when the doctor is ready to see you. It shouldn’t be long.” She smiled, and it was still fake, not that Ace cared that much.

He sat in one of the chairs, looking around a finding that there was only another couple waiting for with him. In a few minutes however they were called back, and it left Ace alone. Some time later they left, with small smiles, Ace wondered what kind of news they got. One looked outside the window told him that it was entering late afternoon. Finally, he was called back, it seemed him and the nurse had different meanings of “not long.”

He followed the nurse to a room in the back of the building, it was empty but he could hear some rustling around in cabinets a little ways away, he figured it was the doctor.

The room itself was nothing special, white walled with a bed and a stool, with a desk that had several medical tools sitting on it. Ace climbed onto the bed and swung his legs, he just wanted this to be over with and soon.

When the doctor did come in he had a friendly smile, it was real unlike the nurses. “Good afternoon, Mason. How are you today?”

Ace blinked. “Uhh... I’ve been better?”

The doctor nodded. “That’s why you’re here, right? What seems to be the problem? I’’m Doctor Conner by the way.”

Ace filed the name away. “My eyes are blurry.”

Doctor Conner wrote that down on a notepad. “Blurry? As in a certain distance?” Ace nodded. “When did this start?”

Ace thought about it, he might as well tell the entire thing, he needed a proper diagnosis. “It got harder to see at night about two years ago, and I guess they’ve been getting worse in the day since, but this morning it was really noticeable.”

He noticed the doctor had written all of this down. Doctor Conner didn’t speak again until his pen stopped moving.

“Do either of your parents have poor eyesight?”

Ace swallowed, he didn’t know and as far as he was concerned he didn’t have parents. “I don’t think so.”

“Hmm. Am I blurry to you?”

Ace shook his head.

“At what distance does it become blurry?”

He looked around the room, and then out of the door, there was a picture frame in the hallway that he couldn’t make out real well.  “That picture.”

Doctor Conner followed his line of sight. “So, you can’t see that far.”

The doctor scribbled something on the paper, and then he reached for one of the tools on the desk. “I’m going to look into your eyes alright Mason? It’ll be a bright light, but it won’t hurt.”

Ace nodded.

The light was extremely bright, and Ace could feel his eyes drying out from the extended time that he went without blinking. When Doctor Conner switched eyes, Ace repeatedly blinked the other one. He could hear the doctor hum in interest. A few minutes later the doctor pulled back, and Ace’s eyes were dancing with spots.

“I’m going to double check something in a medical journal, I’ll be back shortly, but continue blinking to restore the moisture.” Doctor Conner got up and left.

Ace swallowed. What did he have that required a second opinion. That couldn’t be good. He sighed, this was just life dumping more shit on him because he shouldn’t have been born.

He was lost in his own train of thought, but jumped out of it when the doctor returned. He had lost all of his former cheeriness, and Ace went cold. This was apparently a very severe condition.

“Mason, I’m sorry I’m the one to tell you this.”

Ace cut him off. “What’s wrong with my eyes?”

“You’re going blind.”

The room went silent, and in an uncharacteristic show of emotion Ace jumped up. “Blind? How? You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Mason, please calm down. Its a rare condition that may sometime skip a generation in a family. Basically its a disease that will slowly steal your eyesight over the next few years, and eventually you won’t be able to see at all.”

“Years?” Ace was fighting down the panic.

“Most patients that were diagnosed happened to be your age, and they lost their sight anywhere from five to seven years later.”

Ace couldn’t breath, he’d most likely be blind before he went out to sea or would lose it quickly thereafter. What was he going to do? What the hell was he going to tell Luffy? “Everyone’s gone blind that had this condition?”

Doctor Conner only nodded. “There’s unfortunately no treatment to delay it either, we could give you corrective wear, but it wouldn’t do anything for the degeneration.”

Silence filled the room, it was a lot to take in and Ace was on the verge of losing what was left of his calm, he had heard that blind people only see darkness, and he wasn’t going to see a lot of the world before he was surrounded in it. How poetic, Ace’s inner cynic sneered, a monster’s kid swallowed by darkness.

“Mason? Are you alright?” Doctor Conner put a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, its just a lot to take in.”

“We could monitor the degeneration over the next few months to see when exactly your eyesight will be gone. At least then you’ll be prepared.”

Ace shook his head. It wasn’t realistic, Luffy would catch on, even if the bandits didn’t, and he wanted to keep this a secret for as long as possible. While he wanted to know when he went blind, he would have to manage by himself. “I can’t, it was hard enough getting down here today.”

The doctor nodded apologetically. “I won’t make you pay today, go home and tell your parents, if they have any questions please come back.”

Ace bit back a laugh, if he had to guess this condition was most likely from his father’s side. Great, now even his ancestors hate him.

Upon leaving the clinic the sky was already blue with night. He sighed, now he couldn’t even go home at the moment and seek comfort from his brother. Sabo would know how to handle this, Luffy would most likely just cry and ask the same questions he had. How was he going to be a pirate if he couldn’t see?

Ace walked around town until he found a reasonably sheltered alley. He didn’t want to spend money on an inn, and he didn’t think he would get much rest tonight, his mind too active to even try.

There were small miracles apparently, Ace thought as he woke up in the morning. It was just before the hustle of the city people. He didn’t remember falling asleep but it seemed like it was a restful night.

On his way back to the jungle he thought of all the possible ways he could still perform acts of piracy while blind. He knew that there were pirates who functioned well with only one eye, but in general their one good eye was well good. He hadn’t ever heard of a blind pirate, but there had to be a way. He promised Sabo and Luffy he’d set sail when he hit seventeen, but he might be blind by that time.

It was early enough that the jungle was quiet, there were the occasional sounds of an animal moving but it was nothing threatening, and since he was on the same path that he was on yesterday he was able to speed up his pace, remembering where the biggest obstacles laid in the path.

He got back to the path and he was relieved to see that it was still morning, and it would be by the time he got back. He knew this path well enough to let his mind wander.

Ace knew that he would have to tell Luffy at some point, but he could get by without telling Dadan and there was no way  lay. He made it back around mid-morning going by the sun’s position.

Ace wasn’t expecting to be knocked backwards by Luffy, who thankfully didn’t have the waterworks going (though he wondered if they would come later.)

“You didn’t come back last night!” Luffy yelled. “Makino said that you would be back later.”

“Sorry, I got held up in town.” It was partially the truth.

“Eh? Why were you in town to begin with?” Luffy tilted his head.

“I had to do something, its fine.”  Again, he wasn’t directly lying to his brother which made him feel slightly better.

“What?”

“Something.”

“Tell me!”

Ace sighed, he figured this was going to happen. “No.”

“Come on!” Luffy was starting to pout.

The older of the two looked away, determined to keep this to himself for a little while longer. “I said no.”

“Tell me! Ace! Tell me! Come on, tell me! Tell me!”  Luffy repeated.

“I will, just not now?” He tried, otherwise he was going to go nuts, Luffy was just as stubborn as him.

Luffy was quiet, maybe thinking about the deal. “Fine, but tell me soon. Dadan was really mad you didn’t come back last night.”

That was fast. Ace thought. “She’ll get over it. Did you eat yet?”

“Yeah!”

Ace nodded, so he wouldn’t eat until dinner, providing they were both able to catch something. It was going to be a challenge with Luffy’s youth and his lack of eyesight. How long would he be able to do things like this with his brother?

* * *

Three years later and his eyesight had been steadily getting worse like Doctor Conner had said. Ace hadn’t seen the man since he was given his prognosis, but he guessed he was in line with losing his sight, it didn’t seem like he was losing his vision that fast; but at the same time it was disappearing way to quickly. He knew that he would have to tell Luffy soon, it was getting harder to maneuver in the jungle, his vision extending only about five feet in front of him before it was too blurry to distinguish anything. He was relieved there hadn’t been an incident yet.

Ace rolled over and nudged Luffy with his foot, and he got a grunt in reply. Dadan had asked just last week why they both felt the need to sleep so close together. He had teased that Luffy was scared of sleeping alone (but truthfully it was a comfort to him with his fading eyesight to be able to see his younger brother so clearly, he wanted to cherish it for as long as he could.)

“Luffy come on, we have to get up. Everyone else is starting to wake up as well.”

“F'w m’re minutes.” Luffy slurred.

“I gave a you a few more minutes. Come on.” Ace sat up leaving his brother alone on the mat.

As he expected, his younger brother slowly woke up, pating the mat beside him for Ace.

“Its going to be a nice day.” He said as he stood up. “I bet the animals will be really active and we could get something good.”

At the mention of food Luffy shot up. “Meat!”

“Yeah, but first we have to get some breakfast before it's all gone.”

His younger brother slingshotted himself off of the landing and out of Ace’s vision, but the sounds of the pained moans below Luffy managed to land on one of the still sleeping bandits. He wasted no time in following his brother to the first floor, but he was careful, using his foot to find the edge of the ladder. By the time he reached the main room most of the bandits were up and wrestling over whatever they had left from dinner the previous night, he tried to not look too lost while he located Luffy.

“Ace over here! I managed to save you some!” Thank god his little brother was so loud.

He had heard stories about people who lost one of their sense gained stronger senses, he was starting to think that it was just people learning to rely on the other senses, he certainly couldn’t hear any better.

Luffy handed him a plate, and he could see that there was quite a bit of meat. It must’ve been hard for the younger to hold back from eating it all.

“Thanks.”

“Where should we hunt today?” Luffy asked with mouth full.

Ace hummed while thinking about it. “How about the east section, near the river? The buffalo should be passing through there, it's migration season.”

“Sounds good.”

And not that dangerous. Ace thought to himself, he knew that Luffy would catch on soon that they weren’t going after predators that much anymore. He didn’t think he would be much help in a fight like that and Luffy was still too careless.

They ate quickly and headed out, ignoring Dadan’s protests of them skipping out on their chores Ace was pretty sure it was just a habit now. He was right the day was already warm and he could feel the sun beating down on the top of his head, he guessed it was going to be hot. Not a surprise considering they were in the middle of summer.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn’t hear Luffy’s yell of “look out!” Ace turned his head towards the sound of his brother, hoping the other was close enough he could see the pointing along with the cry, no suck luck. Ace whipped his head around trying to decipher any change in the foliage, he hated jungle predators they blended in so well. In was another second before something pounced on him, clawing at his shoulder. He let out a yell of pain.

Seconds later he heard the familiar stretching of his brother as he tried to punch whatever beast was clawing at him. At the same time Ace could make out a body and moved so he could kick the thing off of him. Luffy’s punched missed, but it distracted the beast (which Ace eventually assumed was a tiger) enough that he could successfully kick the underside. The tiger roared in pain, but only dug his claws in further, he sent out another kick hitting it in the ribs. This and another stretch attack from his brother was enough to send the tiger running away. It must be young if it got scared from that.

Luffy was next to him in a second. “Ace are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Ace looked at his shoulder. It was bleeding a lot but it wasn’t deep enough to cause any lasting damage, at worse it would leave an impressive scar.

“Why didn’t you dodge?” Luffy was yelling and talking fast. Shit I worried him.

He could see Luffy’s worried face, his eyes were wide and his chest heaved in wild gasps. Ace sighed, looks like he had to tell his secret.

“Luffy-”

“Wait, let’s get you back first. You need to get treated.” Luffy was still panicking but he was also serious.

It reminded him of the time he carried him back to Dadan’s after the bear attack, the thought of his brother limp on his back was enough to get Ace to push himself up; he understood what Luffy was going through and he was determined to not let the younger feel the same kind of worry he felt back then.

“Help me stand. We have to move fast, otherwise scavengers will be drawn to the scent of blood.”

His brother did as he was told and they limped back to Dadan’s together. It took them almost an hour to get back, and it was barely past noon. This was embarrassing.

Ace ducked his head when Luffy called out to Dogra who then yelled to Magra. The entire bandit clan knew that he was injured within a few minutes of him arriving, this was not his day. He was relieved that Luffy hadn’t been hurt in the fight or on the way back, just tired, it couldn’t have been easy to give support to someone who was so much larger than him.

Magra picked him up and carried him into the main room of the house, not as gently as he would’ve liked and he ended up biting his lip to keep from crying out. Dogra came running in with bandages and a bowl filled with water. He had no idea where Luffy was since he couldn’t see him. His panicked spiked when he realized that he couldn’t see who was coming and going into the room. Luffy settled next to him a few seconds later, on the opposite side of where Magra was working on cleaning his shoulder with warm water.

It was a while before Magra finished treating his cuts, he didn’t like that he wasn’t going to be able to move very much, he had stitches in and he had ripped some out before and it wasn’t an experience he was keen to repeat. Magra and Dogra left the room a little later, spewing something about having to go hunting so they had something to eat. Ace felt a little bad at them having to hunt so late in the day, but it didn’t compare at all to the feeling he got when he turned his head to look at Luffy.

Tears were building up, but he guessed Luffy was refusing to let them fall (he hadn’t cried since turning ten much to Ace’s surprise and relief) and his bottom lip was bunched up. He looked like someone had told him all of the meat in the world was gone.

“Lu.”

His brother looked at him. “Does your shoulder hurt?”

“Not really, Magra stitched it up fine.” Ace replied. “Come here.”

Luffy shifted towards him, carefully nestling into Ace’s side, it was so similar to the position that they had slept in after Luffy’s run in with the bear, but they hadn’t slept like this in years.

“I’m going to tell you something and you have to keep it a secret okay? Even more so than the one about the Pirate King.” Ace started, his chest tightening as he thought about spilling all of his fears as well as his secrets.

He felt Luffy nod into his torso. “Promise.”

Ace inhaled. “Don’t freak out and start crying.”

“Are you dying?” Luffy interrupted

“No, I promised I wouldn’t and promises are meant to be kept.”

Again, he got another nod.

“I’m losing my vision.”

He felt his brother’s frown. “What does that mean?”

“I’m going to be blind.”

“Blind? What’s that?”

Ace blinked, he had forgotten Luffy wasn’t a fan of listening to people’s conversations, and he had been with pirates and then the bandits for most of his life, he probably didn’t know that there were people who couldn’t see. Not for the first time Ace found himself wishing that Sabo was here, the other would be able to explain this so much better.

“It means I won’t be able to see.”

“How come? You have both of your eyes and your aren’t old.” Luffy’s voice was curious.

“Sometimes things just happen, and you can’t stop them. This is one of those things.”

“Are you still going out to sea?”

“Of course, it’ll be a little harder but I’ll manage. I’m your big brother after all I can’t lose to you!”

“You’re going to!” Luffy yelled.

Ace laughed. He knew that in a few years Luffy would figure out exactly what he meant, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open as a sleep attack claimed him.

Luffy did figure out what blind meant when Makino next showed up, and truthfully he hadn’t ever seen his brother that mad before. Saying that it wasn’t “a little more dangerous? Its a lot more dangerous!” As Ace guessed his brother asked him to wait until he was old enough to set sail, saying they could be co-captains. He had to turn him down, they were all meant to set sail at seventeen, he had made that promise to Sabo and he wasn’t about to break it, blindness be dammed.

* * *

When the time did come for him to set sail he was completely blind, but it wasn’t like he had thought it would be. His world wasn’t drenched in darkness, but instead it was blurry to the point that he couldn’t make out his hand even when he held it up directly to his eye. Ace guessed that this was better than a world of dark, but he was reminded of what he had loss.

He had gone to Doctor Conner a week ago, to ask if this was as bad as it got or if it worsened. His hopes weren’t lifted by the answer. The doctor had told him that his eyes would keep deteriorating, and from what he read the blurriness wouldn’t stop at just figures but it would take away his color perception, but the end of if he was lucky he would be left with his ability to see light and dark, but most others say that they couldn’t make out even that.

Still Ace set out. Maybe somewhere in the Grand Line there would be someone who could help with this, the secrets of that ocean were still unknown to many and there weren’t a lot of goods that made it out since pirates ransacked trade ships. He knew that his first step would be to get a crew and a boat that was up to the rigors of long term sea travel.

The first island he came to didn’t give him any men, but it gave him a hint of where to go. There was an island not to far away that was generally ignored by the marines and a lot of East Blue troublemakers gathered there. It was a proving grounds of sort. He headed in that direction, or so he hoped.

It was hard, not being able to see, but he still had his wits and after living with his vanishing sight for seven years he had a pretty could handle on acting like he wasn’t blind. Most of the people on the island were fairly disgusting, dealing with the less savory of the underworld, human trafficking, prostitution, organ selling. Ace wanted to leave as soon as possible, but he wanted to find a first mate first.

Find a first mate and get directions to the next island. At least that was his plan, but with all things in Ace’s life it didn’t work out.

It had been a rainy day, about his third day on the island when there was a commotion coming from down the street. Ace followed the sound of like minded people who were curious to see what the sound was.

“Listen here kid you’re going to tell me where the Devil’s Fruit is located, and maybe I’ll spare you.”  The voice was angry.

“No I found out where it was fair and square its mine!” A voice yelled back, gruff but youthful.

Ace was sensing an opportunity.

“If you won’t spill it, then we’ll just make sure that no one will find it!” Ace heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and that’s when made his move.

“Now, now. Why don’t we all calm down and talk about this over a drink.” Ace raised his hands up in a peaceful gesture, and he prayed he was looking at the aggressor.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Portgas D. Ace.” He answered.

There weren’t any shocked gasps he was still unknown after all but he did hear the sound of laughter. “And here I thought we had some big shot. Get him boys!”  
Ace sighed, he figured the would happen. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to only focus on the footsteps that grew closer. To him this was a test, if all that training he did with Luffy in the jungle to sense his opponents actually worked against people he had never met. Sure enough, it did. Ace sensed there were about six guys coming towards him.

He raised his hands in a defensive stance. There were a few seconds of pre-fight equilibrium and then the guy furthest left took to first swing. Ace dodged it easily, and used the time the guy had to recover to step in a jab him in the space between his ribs. The guy doubled over with a wheeze.

Another had moved behind him and was trying to surprise him, instead Ace pressed his advantage and lashed out with a backwards kick, the man went flying if the lack of resistance his foot met and the sound of a body crashing to the ground were anything to go by.

A third stepped up, and kicked at Ace, he caught the foot and spun it, not feeling the least bit sorry as he felt the hip give more than it should and the shout of pain. Behind him the crowd was shifting away from the fight. Another one approached him, Ace somehow knew this one was different he wasn’t disappointed when heard the swish of blade narrowly miss his chest as he leapt back. But what he didn’t count on was there being a guy there.

The man wrapped a thick arm around his neck and the guy with the blade stepped closer. Ace stepped on his captors foot as hard as he could, and when the man loosened his grip Ace used his smaller body type to maneuver fully out of the grip and while he was spinning he stuck his foot out catching the man in the small of his back. He was sent crashing into the one with the blade. There was only one left.

Ace had lost track of the sixth one in the struggle with the other five, he spent precious seconds trying to locate him. When he did it was almost too late. He had heard the schink of a blade being removed from a scabbard and he turned around wanting to try and deflect it the best he could. Before the blade could meet with his chest another blade was being drawn and the sound of swords clashing hit his ears. He could only guess that this was the guy he was saving.

“Thanks.” He said.

“I couldn’t let these bastards get away with publicly humiliating me, nor could I let a stranger completely fight for me.”

“This one is all yours then.” Ace turned his attention to he figured the boss was.

“Now, you should apologize for being so rude.”

The boss made sounds that were similar to a fish flopping on sands. Instead, of an apology Ace heard the sounds of an overweight male trying to run away.

“What a coward.” Ace mumbled to himself, and he figured the fight behind him was done as well, he didn’t hear the sounds of swords any longer.  

“The only reason people listened to him were because of his cronies, but you took care of them pretty easily. You must be new here.”

“Landed only a few days ago.”

“How about we get out of this rain and into one of the taverns and talk?” The man asked.

“Sure, by the way what’s your name?”

“Jared Smith. Smith being the last name.”

“Weird way of introducing yourself.” Ace commented, following after Jared.

“Yeah, its common where I come from and haven’t grown out of the habit yet.”

They walked silently next to each other. He was relieved to find that Jared didn’t mind leading from the side, Ace didn’t like it when people walked ahead of him, he couldn’t see them and sometimes he couldn’t make out who the footsteps belonged to which just lead him to get lost.

Eventually they found a tavern, which seemed nice judging by the lively atmosphere and good smell.

“Nice place.” Ace commented.

“Local favorite, been here for years. Everyone has to try it at least once. Best fish in a ten island area.”

“Can’t wait.”

Aparently Jared was well known at this tavern, and friendly. The waitress knew him by name.

“Come here often?”

“Weekly.”

Ace sat back in his chair. The waitress came over a few minutes later asking for their orders. Jared didn’t help Ace out by just saying “the usual.”

“I heard you had some pretty good fish? I think I’d like to try that.”

“The fried fish?” Ace shrugged. “Alright it’ll be right out, want some water while you wait?”

“Sure.” Ace replied.

There were a few minutes of silence, only broken by the waitress coming back and gave him his water.

“So, Ace, what brings you here?” Jared asked, his tone conversational.

“Looking for a pirate crew.” He replied honestly. “Figured a basically lawless zone was the best place to pick one up.”

“That’s true. You a new captain? Haven’t heard about you before.”

“I only started my journey a few weeks ago.”

“Ah.”

The food came and the two of them ignored conversation in favor of scarfing down their meals.

Jared apparently finished first. “What are you looking for in a crew anyway?”

Ace hummed. “I think being  good person is my number one thing, and of course strength. But I don’t have any particular requirements. I just have to like you.”  
“So no positions have been filled yet?”

“Nope.” Ace answered, and then set down his fork. “Say, you seem to be rather curious.”

“I do? Its just I kind of wanted to join a pirate crew, but none have been recruiting, and I don’t have a lot of skills other than being a somewhat decent fighter. I'm good at finding things out too.”

“It sounds like you’re asking to join.” Ace tried to hide his grin.

“If you’ll have me?”

Ace thought about it. Jared seemed nice enough, and he needed a crew not to mention he was curious about the Devil’s Fruit. Maybe if I could get my hands on it, I could be a deadlier fighter, or at least not as handicapped.  He would have to trust his gut on this one but he didn’t think he had to worry about Jared.

“Welcome aboard!”

“Thank you!” Jared laughed, shaking Ace’s extended hand. “This dinner is to thank you from saving me from those guys, and as my first act as your new crew mate I’ll tell you where the Devil’s fruit is.”

Ace grinned, this had worked out better than he thought.

Sometime later when both he and Jared were resting in the boat Jared asked the question he had been dreading.

* * *

“Hey, is there something wrong with you? Other than the narcolepsy?”

Ace inhaled and shifted to his side. Jared had been with him for a month, they were still heading to the island with the Devil’’s Fruit, which happened to be on the other side of East Blue, but in away it was a great way to know his first mate, but also for his first mate to figure out things him.

“What makes you say that?” Ace asked.

“Well sometimes when we talk I get the feeling you're not seeing me.” Ace hid a wince. “And other times you don’t even look at me but in my general direction. Do you not like making eye contact?”

It was bound to come out eventually, and hopefully Jared wouldn’t want to leave his crew. The other seemed sensible enough.

“I’m blind, technically.”

“I figured.” Jared sighed. “Wait what do you mean technically?”

“Well, I can still see, but it's so blurry it doesn’t matter.” Ace shrugged.

“Ah. But you’re still so strong. That’s impressive.”

“Thanks.” The two fell into silence. He really appreciated Jared, he didn’t think he could ask for a better first mate. Then he spoke again.

“What’s your goal? Every captain has a goal.”

Ace smirked. “I’m going to take Whitebeard’s head.”

“Oh you’re going to take - Wait what?”

“I plan to kill Whitebeard.”

“That’s what I thought you said.” Jared replied. “Its a good thing that this fruit we’re going after is rumored to be pretty strong.”

“What fruit is it anyway?” Ace had wanted to know for awhile but didn’t think he should ask.

“The Mera Mera no Mi.”

“A logia type?” Ace exclaimed.

“Yeah, strongest fire fruit.” Jared replied, his voice was light, indicating that he was happy.

“That sounds awesome.”

A few days later and they found themselves at the doors of the marine base that held the Devil’s Fruit, they had picked up two guys who wanted to get back at the captain of the base. Ace was happy with how things were going so far. Jared would head to the room they kept the fruit, while Ace and the two new guys (Viktor and Daichi) would cause a distraction.

Still, AceSo, far the plan was working, and then the captain showed up. Viktor and Daichi attacked him at the same time and left Ace to deal with the subordinates. Fine by me, less of a chance of me getting in the way.

Jared ran up to him almost the moment he heard the captain’s body fall to the ground.

“Captain! I got the fruit!” He yelled.

“That’s great. Let’s leave before anyone else figures out what we’re doing.”

As they were running they realized that Viktor and Daichi were following after them.

“Seems like we have some new crewmates.” Jared yelled while they were running.

“Yes we do.”

They got back to the ship, well they got back to a ship. There was a newly built carval in the docks, and it was only going to be used for trading so they did as pirates do and stole it.

Once they were safely at sea Jared presented the fruit to Ace. He took it and ran his hands over it. The fruit itself was bumpy, with little rivets in it that swirled. When he got to the top he felt the stem as well as the parts of the fruit that came into points. He realize that it probably depicted the symbol commonly used for fire; there was no mistaking it. He inhaled once and took a bite... it was awful tasting, it was like getting a mouthful of ash and char, but he knew that he had to eat the entire thing to get the powers of the fruit so he toughed it out.

A few hours later, he guessed that some of the fruits took time to give you powers, he randomly caught on fire. It was strange because it didn’t burn, and it almost felt cold. He guessed it really surprised his crew (rightly, so it wasn’t everyday someone caught on fire for no reason especially out in the middle of the sea). Though in that brief flare he had experienced something he hadn’t in years.

Tentatively he reached his flame out, willing it to only be exploratory (he had no idea how these things worked, and Luffy’s explanation of it just does it, wasn’t helpful) He assumed he didn’t set the ship on fair due to the lack of panicking crewmates. He confirmed what he had thought happened in that first initial blast.

His fire was able to react like a hand, in a way. It was like he was reaching out and touching the mast and the railing. He could even feel where his crewmates were. It was exhilarating to not be limited to what his other four senses could perceive in his tiny little bubble. In a way it made up for his lack of eyesight, even though he knew that he wouldn’t be able to ever see the mast it would better than walking into it. He knew that it was something he could learn to control and when he did it would be a great asset to him.

For the first time since he left Luffy on Dawn Island he felt some of the stress melt away from him. Ace even thought the sailing would be smoother from now on.

* * *

**A year later and some months after entering the Grand Line**

Ace didn’t think that he would have the opportunity to try his strength so soon. Jinbei had to have been his strongest opponent to date, and he was surprised that the warlord was keeping up with him. However he was more surprised that neither of them were willing to give in drawing out this fight to an impressive length of five days.

In that time Ace found out some important things, one being that the Warlords weren’t entirely talk and scum for giving up pirating for safety, and the other was that all sea water could be dangerous.

It had been about the third day of fighting that Ace let Jinbei get too close to the ocean. The fishman had taken advantage of that and hit him with his water martial arts or whatever the name for it was, Ace didn’t register the name of the attack as it felt like he was getting sucker punched in the gut with water. He was sent flying, and his fire receded to somewhere he couldn’t reach as the stream was continuous.

For a moment Ace was no longer the eighteen year old pirate captain with a strong Devil’s Fruit but fifteen year old boy who got blindsided by a tiger, He flailed and kicked in panic, forgetting that he had to act like could see. The cannon cut off and it left Ace flying backwards. He gasped for air, verging on a panic attack as he lost his one comfort of being able to sense the terrain. Thankfully he was still able to sense Jinbei’s life force and rolled to the side as a sandaled foot narrowly missed his head. It was enough to shake Ace back into the fight as he lept up, his fire coming to the surface as he fried off.

He knew that he couldn’t let Jinbei get close to the water again, that was too powerful of a weapon and Ace didn’t like the feeling of having his fire taken away from him.

Is that what Luffy felt whenever he fell into the water? He shook his head clear of the thought as he ducked under a fish and spun out into a back kick. He felt his foot connect. It didn’t seem like Jinbei noticed the few seconds that he couldn’t see, he wasn’t sure what would happen if an opponent found out that he  was  blind he guessed that is would either take advantage of it or maybe not fight as hard as they would with someone could see. Ace didn’t plan giving anyone the chance to find out to see their reaction.

The fight went on for another two days, more accurately one and a half but he’d let the legends make him sound more impressive. At what was most likely midday, he guessed from the intensity of the sun beating down on his back, he heard Jinbei collapse. Yet he didn’t let himself think for a second that the fishman was dead, simply losing to exhaustion and the lack of food for days. Ace was feeling it himself, and seconds later he was down on the ground about to allow himself to close his eyes.

That’s when he heard the unmistakable sound of a ship approaching land. He swallowed, too exhausted to even summon his fire to explore how big the ship actually was. By the sound of the wake it was causing it wasn’t small, maybe the biggest ship he’s encountered. Ace swallowed, he was in no shape to stand up much less fight a better equipped crew.

He heard his crew gasp and he guessed that meant the newest arrivals were well known. Then after a few seconds of silence a new voice spoke.

It was old, rough, and loud. “Who's the brat that wants to take my head?”

 _Shit_. Ace felt something hard settle in his gut. This was the man he wanted to kill. He knew that even at full strength it would be a hard fight, but considerably weakened there was no way he would win.

“I’ll take him on myself.”

Ace forced himself to start moving, and he felt the earth tremble as something jumped down onto it. Was Whitebeard really that strong that the ground shook as he walked. Behind him his crew was growing more and more frantic. He pushed himself into a standing position. After a few seconds of trying to locate Whitebeard’s presence he found it, and it was a lot closer than he expected. His legs were straining with the effort to hold him up.

He inhaled. Then let his fire flare out behind him. “Fire net!”

“Planning to run?” Whitebeard spoke, even when he wasn’t yelling across land he was loud.

Ace smirked. “I’m letting my crew get away.”

Judging by the subtle change in breathing he could tell that wasn’t the expected answer.

 _Good_. He thought. Then with a yell he launched himself toward his goal.

The fight as he expected didn’t last long, Whitebeard got a devastating hit early on and Ace was already weakened from Jinbei. Still he fought valiantly, or at least he thought he did.

He knew he had landed some punches, and even though Whitebeard didn’t give any he was sure he left some serious burn marks. But on one occasion when he left himself open, the older pirate struck him in the ribs which sent him flying.

The young fire used landed hard on his side, losing his breath and his ability to stay conscious.

 _At least my crew got away._ Was his last thought.

 


	2. Day 1: I tried to kill Whitebeard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace isn't fond of the Whitebeard Pirates, and Marco is in charge of him. Also Thatch is a bastard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said they'd be irregular and it will be, but I've had some free time so I decided to write some more and ended up actually writing the first chapter. And holy crap they're long chapters. I'll try to keep up this length the best I can. So I'll have my main little chat session at the bottom with explanations. So without further ado let's begin.
> 
> I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE 
> 
> See you at the bottom!

Ace shot up with a yell and looked around, knowing that it wouldn't help him, the entire area was basically a brown blur with some sort of light coming in, but if there were enemies in the vicinity he could keep up the facade of having sight. He frowned in confusion when he felt, or rather didn't feel, the lack of another person. _Did Whitebeard just leave me after he beat me? But then my crew would've come back to get me and Jared at the very least wouldn't leave me alone._  His frown deepened.

Beneath his fingertips he felt a cotton like material, and he could tell that he was on something soft.  _A bed._  He reasoned. Out of curiosity he attempted to summon his fire, which leapt to life at the thought. Ace grinned something was working out for him. He allowed his fire to map out the room. It was small, and there was something off to the side of it, something square, and further beside the object something was round, though he didn't spend much time figuring out what they were he wanted to get a map of the room in case he was in some sort of hostile situation. A few seconds later and he figured that his fire had reached the other side of the room, there was something that blocked it from going any further. He let his fire stretch against the blockade noting that there was a rise, dip, and rise breaking the even surface. Ace allowed his fire to climb up the dip slightly, there was something sticking out from whatever that dip was.  _A door?_  So he was in a room.

With a short pause Ace swung his legs over the side of the bed, noting the stiffness in his muscles. He had been out of it for a while then. His feet hit the ground and he stood up easily, no vertigo or the need to pass out. _Not badly injured then_ , Ace thought with a grin.

The place where he thought a door was seemed to be straight ahead, and only a short distance. He guessed the room he was in wasn't that large. Tentatively he took a step, making sure that he wouldn't be ambushed and the person was just laying in wait to see what he would do. Nothing happened. Without any more delay on his part he made his way to the door and flung it open his fire immediately going to the sides of him, feeling for obstacles or personal. It was only whatever the floor was made out of.

Then the rest of his sense caught up to him. His nose was hit with the smell of salt and water, his ears hearing the gentle lapping of waves on a ship hull and a flags rapid fluttering, and finally he felt the breeze and the salt that was carried on it as well as the sun's intense light. It took him only seconds to figure out that he was on a pirate ship. A few more seconds to figure out that he had no idea where they were going or in what direction. He didn't realize that he had been stepping forward with each thought until he felt his fire at his feet warning him that there was a barrier in his way. Then he sunk down, leaning on what he presumed was the railing of the ship, for the first time since sailing out he was completely without bearings. Ace clutched at his head, his mind racing with how he could figure out exactly where he was and how to get back to that island.

Something brushed over his fire, and he let it follow the sensation. Whatever it was kept moving, falling at a one, two, count. Walking. That's a person walking.

_Shit! I let myself freak out! Dropped my guard!_  Ace dug his nails into his scalp, he couldn't even think to fight.

"Hey!" The voice that spoke was annoying but it didn't sound hostile. Ace looked up in what he hoped was the direction the person was standing, he guessed it was the white blob breaking up the brown.

"I'm the fourth division commander... Thatch!"

_Division commanders? The only person that uses those types of titles... Am I on Whitebeard's ship?_  Ace dropped his hands from his head, but kept them clenched, from what he could tell this Thatch person started to walk, Ace could hear it clearly but spread his fire out just to see where he was walking. Oh, he was walking to the railing.

"Since you're joining our crew." There was a pause as Thatch's feet left his area of flame. "I thought we should be friends"

The words that Whitebeard said to him before he passed out came back to him.  _Take my name... become my son!_  Ace felt his throat tighten at the use of the word, There was no way he would ever be anyone's son, not even to his mother! And what the hell was Thatch spouting about him joining the crew?  
"Shut up!" Ace snapped. He couldn't handle this, he needed to figure out how to get off of this ship.

"Someone woke up in a bad mood." Thatch was  _laughing!_  
The fireuser buried his head in his hands, clenching his jaw, he wouldn't give this bastard another chance to laugh at him.

Then Thatch spoke again.  _Can't this guy read the atmosphere?_

"Oh yeah. I thought you would want to know what happened after you passed out"Ace didn't let himself react, but he was curious. "Your companions came to get you back...so we beat them all."

That time Ace did twitch, it was quick and he wondered if this  _commander_  would notice it.

Apparently he did. "What? Its not like they're dead. We're keeping them here on this ship"

That... was actually helpful. At least now he knew that he could find them, it would make his escape a lot easier. Next time he met Whitebeard he was taking his head. But there was still something in Thatch's tone that grated on his nerves and without really thinking he opened his mouth.

He hopped that he was looking at Thatch and not somewhere off in the distance, that would be all too telling or a sign of submission; either one didn't sit well with him. "Are you sure you should leave me like this, without any locks or shackles or anything?"

The reply was instantaneous. "Shackles? We don't need those!"

Ace wanted to hit this guy, but he wasn't sure his exact location. He knew that his displeasure showed on his face, and he hoped that his glare was an impressive sight.

Once again Thatch just laughed. Ace shot to his feet, keeping his head turned the same way as it was. It was all about appearances at this point.

"Why-!" Ace began but it was cut off by a new voice.

He didn't even hear this one approach, he was letting his guard down way too much. He called his fire back to him subtlety.

"Thatch stop riling the new recruit and get back to making breakfast, yoi." This voice was calm, and not at all obnoxious.

Ace turned his head in the direction of the newcomer, unsure of how to react. He remained tense, ready to fight or flee depending on how this situation went.

"Marco!" Thatch greeted. "I will, just thought I would say hi since he seems a little confused."

The young pirate swallowed. He was pretty sure there was only one Marco a division commander like Thatch would greet so happily but with an undertone of respect.  _The first mate of the Whitebeard pirates is here? I'm screwed._

Marco made a sound of agreement. Thatch leapt from the railing and back into Ace's fire. He hid a wince at how loud the sound was, the fourth division commander must be a pretty decent size.

"See ya around Ace!" Thatch walked off, and the moment he left the range of the fire Ace paid him no attention, all of it focused on the first division commander.

Silence filled the air between them. Ace didn't want to speak because he didn't want to provoke the other male, but he wasn't sure why Marco was keeping quiet.

* * *

Marco was just one his way to see if their newest recruit was up yet when he heard Thatch's laughter and a voice he couldn't identify's yelling. He sighed, leave it to Thatch to already start trouble. When he turned the corner he was a little confused, Thatch was perched on the railing, but the kid (who was younger than he thought he'd be) looked to be in some sort of distress.

"Why-!" The teen started, but Marco cut him off.

"Thatch stop riling the new recruit and get back to making breakfast. "He had noticed the tiny, nearly invisible, flames flickering at his feet and he was worried that Thatch was about to get attacked.

"Marco!" Thatch greeted. "I will, just thought I would say hi since he seems a little confused"

Marco hummed back in greeting, keeping his eyes on the teen. Confused wasn't the world that the first mate would've used, the kid looked livid and extremely tense.

"See ya around Ace!" Thatch said as he sauntered off to the kitchen.

_Ace is his name? Fire Fist? The one Pops was so interested in?_  Marco pondered.

He looked over his newest brother. Ace was well built and tall, almost as tall as Marco himself. Shaggy black hair and eyes to match. The younger teen didn't seem like he was going to take his eyes off of him, and the fire hadn't died down at all. Marco frowned, he thought Ace would've relaxed some if he was able to wake up on his own and not be chained up.

He realized belatedly that neither of them had said a word for a few minutes, there wasn't anything in Ace's face that gave him away.

"I'm Marco, yoi." He took a step forward, and he felt the fire heating up.

Ace just scowled. "What are you planning?"

Marco just arched an eyebrow, this kid was beyond wary. "To show you around the ship"

"Why-"Ace snapped back.

"Your our newest brother, you should probably know how to navigate the ship"

Ace tensed up even more at the word brother. "No thank you. Just let me off at the next island."

Marco bit back a sigh, wondering why this kid was so defensive and why his fire had yet to move it wasn't heating up to match the others anger. "Then I'll just come back and get you for breakfast"

He'd have to be patient it seemed. They had gotten brothers like this before, and they were all understandably confused and upset but this is beyond even their reaction. There was something else going on there, he doubted Ace could really hate the Whitebeard pirates that much despite him wanting to kill Pops it was probably just a goal with no real heat to it. He started to back away, not letting Ace had the opportunity to strike him in the back, and he noticed that the fire was following almost clinging to him in a way. He'd have to ask about that at a later date, but he would let it go since it wasn't causing any damage to the ship.

Well at least now he would have another hour to work on paperwork that he didn't plan on, he might even go to bed at a decent time tonight.

* * *

Ace waited until Marco left, cursing himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity to tour the ship, but then again he really didn't want to be left alone with any of these people. He couldn't be sure what they were planning and he wouldn't be able to see if it was a trap until it was too late. There was also something about Marco that made his flames more active, like the man had an affinity with the element. Maybe he had a Devil's Fruit that was some sort of fire based on, Ace had come across that before and as he was the master of all fires it made sense.

Still he had some time to himself before Marco came back, and he really didn't want to deal with any of the crew so he subtly let his fire guide him back to the open door. After making sure he was fully inside he closed it behind him. He blew air through his nose. His fire brushing against the shapes from earlier. Ace's curiosity got the better of him so he walked over to investigate.

He placed his hand on the square one fire, it was wooden, and then he ran his hand along it. Finding a seam, so it was a crate. Ace folded his fingers beneath it, placing the other hand under it as well to see if it was open or not. The lid lifted easily, and Ace let his fire into the box to fell it there was anything in it. The crate was empty. So he went over to where he remembered the round object was. He did the same thing, it was a barrel, and it smell faintly of sake. Gently he nudged it with his foot, it moved easily and there was no sound of sloshing liquid. So he was in some sort of storage room, probably where they put the used boxes and barrels to make it easier to get to the food.

He spread his fire out feeling for the bed, when he noticed another square shape next to what he assumed was the bed (there were four interruptions around something rectangular about six inches of the ground). Maybe it was a nightstand? Ace made his way over to it, finally he reached it and placed his hand to it. The first thing came into contact with was material of some sort. He moved his hand down and felt two circular buttons. _Oh, my hat._  He picked it up and hung it around his neck. Ace let his fire explore the room once more and decided there was nothing note that needed attention so he sat down on the bed. Fingers steepled against his chin, he started to plan what his next course of action would be. Finding his crew, or at least one of them would be a start figure out where they could meet up and get back to their ship. Or... maybe he could take Whitebeard's head when he was in such close proximity to the man. An assassination? It wouldn't be the most noble of fights but he would still be the man who killed the "strongest man in the world" He is a pirate after all and a win is a win.

Ace nodded that what he would do, after he told his crew of the plan. He lost himself in thoughts of how he could kill Whitebeard as a result he lost track of time until there was a knock on the door. He straightened himself.

"Who is it?" He called, not that a name would help him, but it could be one of the two crewmates he's already met or one of his crewmates.

"Marco." The voice returned. "Time for breakfast. Also time to meet your new family"

Ace growled quietly he really wished that they would stop using that word around him. Even if that's what they call their crewmates, he wasn't one of them and the only family he had were Luffy and Sabo. So he shot to his feet and walked to the door knowing how far it was from his bed, but he did have his hand outstretched to find the knob which took a few tries but at least he didn't slap the door letting the other know that there was something wrong with him.

He opened the door slowly knowing that there was someone on the other side and even though they were enemies that would just be rude, and at the very least Ace could act civil while he plotted.

"Yo." Marco said when he got the door open far enough.

Ace turned his head in the direction of Marco's voice, hoping that it was close enough the other wouldn't notice. He wanted to use his fire to guide him to the exact point of where Marco was but that would be too much of a giveaway there was something wrong, let them think that it was just because he felt like he was in danger. All the more of an advantage to him in the long run.

"I'll lead you to the mess hall, we should be early enough that no everyone will overwhelm you with greetings, yoi"

He shrugged, in truth he probably would ignore most of the questions anyway he didn't want to get too close to the others if he was just going to betray them in the end. He nodded almost to himself. Marco started walking and the fire user focused on his guide's footsteps and life force. On the way there he made sure to count steps, from the length of straights to corners and what direction they turned. He was building his own mental map. Though, he still kept some part of his attention on Marco.

"This is the mess hall, the closest thing you'll find to a dining room on the Moby. Not sure who is all here things morning, yoi"

"Okay." Ace prepared himself to be overwhelmed by what he was sure to be a large crowd, but he knew if it was as big as he thought it would be he would only be able to focus on those in close proximity of him. He was vulnerable in a group setting.

He heard Marco open the door, and tensed ready as he could be for the sensory overload he was going to get. Instead he only heard a few conversations which stopped when he followed Marco inside.

"You in a better mood, Ace?" He identified the owner of that voice quickly, it was Thatch and once again the bastard was laughing at him again.

"Play nice Thatch." A new voice said, it was smooth and low.

He heard the footsteps start to approach him before he sensed them, and he backed up a step out of reflex. There was no way of knowing what this person had planned, better safe than sorry. It seemed his movement didn't go unnoticed as the footsteps stopped and the voice spoke up again.

"My name is Izou. Nice to meet you"

Ace bowed slightly, enough so people could tell that he was but not enough to give off that he had any respect. Makino's manners were drilled into him and old habits died hard, especially if the greeting he got was polite. "I'm Ace."

There were a few moments of silence, and Ace could feel the shock circulating around the room. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, and he prepared to run just incase.

"Thatch? Are you sure that you didn't offend him to make him so hostile. "Izou was speaking again. "He hasn't even commented on how I dress! Someone raised him right."

Ace tightened his jaw. He had practically raised himself (and Luffy) the bandits did try but they didn't really help all that much, and he sought out manners on his own accord. Also what the hell was Izou wearing, if people always commented on it? All Ace could tell was that it was mostly pink with something red around the area waist should be.

"Move over Izou!" Someone shouted, it was another new voice.

Belatedly Ace realized that he hadn't paid any attention to the rest of the room, he was slipping. He fixed that quickly. Izou and the new voice were about a foot away from him, Marco was only a few inches away right beside him. Then he could sense there were four presences further away, most likely at a table but he couldn't be sure of their exact location. One of them was Thatch. I'm out numbered, I don't know the terrain, and there are at least two commanders in this room, the fight would not go in my favor.

Ace was startled out of his thoughts by the new voice. It was young sounding, and strange, he couldn't tell if the speaker was male or female.

"I'm Haruta, I'm a division commander like Izou, he forgot to tell you"

Oh, they're a hyper person. A kid? No, Whitebeard doesn't seem the type to let a young kid be a division commander. Also four commanders? I have to make sure I don't provoke them. Ace filed the information away for future reference. He'd have to be careful that he didn't let slip that he couldn't tell Haruta's sex or what Izou was wearing exactly. It would be a dead giveaway something was wrong with him.

Ace bit back a sigh. He wondered if he would be greeted by the other three in the room.

"Stop ganging up on him and let us sit down." Marco's voice didn't change in volume but it demanded authority and Ace could feel the others moving to follow the order.

He wondered if he should thank the man, but before he could Marco was already moving away. Ace followed after him, a little unsure of where exactly the table was, though it was a lighter brown than the floor that much he could tell, he rested his hand at the side but had his fingers out slightly to detect for any changes.

"You can have the end seat, yoi." Marco's voice sounded closer to the ground, and just as he finished that sentence Ace felt the table.

Marco's presence was just a little to the left of him and he used his knee to find the seat, which thankfully didn't take an obvious amount of time, he was just hoping his movements matched those of a wary man and not a blind one. The moment that he sat down there was food placed in front of him.

"Eat." It was Marco again.

Ace sniffed the air, it smelled like it was some sort of porridge and it did smell good. He wasn't going to be taken unaware like that, he didn't see the food prepared (not that he ever would) but it wasn't made by his chef or a person who had no reason to kill him. So he ignored it, in favor of acting like he was looking around.  
"Not eating at sea can be deadly you know." That was Thatch's voice, and it sounded serious for once.

_The cook then?_  Ace pondered, sea cooks were the only people who got hostile when someone wasn't eating, but he still didn't trust this crew.

He rested his cheek on his hand, wanting to see if the other would do anything but trying to school his face into one that was neutral and not defiant. Besides he was still curious about the other three people in the room. Ace looked over in their general direction hoping the would get the hint and he would at least name the life forces he was feeling. There were a lot of big names on the Whitebeards and he would like to know if he was sitting near one.

It seemed like they were more interested in eating if the sounds of chewing and slurping where anything to go by, Ace almost wrinkled his nose, it sounded like how Luffy ate and he knew from when he could see that it was disgusting.

"Sorry their manners aren't the best." That was Izou and Ace tilted his head in that general direction.

He could've laughed at the absurdity of the situation once he realized it. Here he was, a man who vowed to take the head of the captain of this ship, eating breakfast with four of his commanders (and maybe more) and having one apologize for bad manners. This would've been hilarious if this was someone else's story and not the reality he was living at the moment. Why do these things happen to me? He mentally asked, he really wanted to know when his luck was going to turn around.

From the location of his elbow he could tell that the food in front of him was cooling but it seemed like Thatch had dropped the subject. Ace figured he could just take something from the kitchen later on, something he knew for certain wasn't contaminated.

Breakfast lasted for another thirty minutes. He finally did learn that the other three were in fact commanders: Jozu, Vista, Jiru. Ace knew that everyone else was eating, but he couldn't be sure that they didn't do anything to his food. Eventually he heard what sounded like silverware being set down next to him. Marco must be done.

"The rest of the crew will be coming in shortly, do you want to stay"

"No"

* * *

Marco shouldn't have been surprised by the answer. The kid was still extremely distrustful of the crew, as shown by his refusal to eat. Thatch was going to have Ace's head for that. Though he decided he wouldn't push the kid any further today. He had reacted well to Izou and Haruta, and didn't seem to mind the other three, so maybe it was a start.

"Alright, I'll walk you back to your room. We'll have a better one made up for you shortly." Marco said as he stood up.

Ace twitched, but followed him out of the mess hall regardless. It would seem that mention joining the crew just set the kid off, and for some reason Marco really wanted him to stay, they had a little over a month before they got to the next island and Pops had said that if Ace didn't want to join by then to let him go. The first mate wondered if it would be a good idea to mention it now, he shook his head. Best to let Ace work through this himself. Marco also didn't think that any more conversation would be welcome. The fire user still seemed wound up.

He turned his head to look at Ace. He was following behind, seeming to stare right back at him his face set in a grim line, Marco could see the little flecks of fire flutter off of his shoulder as well. Marco turned back around. He was still curious about the fire from earlier, that hadn't been a normal flame. He would find out later, Ace was bound to stay on the ship after he got over him think that he was kidnapped and held as a captive.

The walk back was a lot shorter and Marco stopped in front of the door. Ace stumbling right into him.

"Ah. Don't stop so suddenly!" Ace growled.

"Sorry, but we're at your room, yoi." Even if he had only been on the ship a day they had only gone one way.

"All the doors look the same." Ace replied.

That is true. Marco thought but didn't voice it. "I'll have someone bring lunch to you later"

Ace made a noise of agreement, gentle pushes seemed the way to go, and just getting him into the mess hall was probably a huge step in the long run.

"And I'll try and get you for dinner. I'm busy so I won't promise"

Again Ace just made a noise, and moved toward the door. Marco glanced down at the kid's hand, it was stretched out slightly, fingers straightening the closer he got to the door. Marco just shrugged it as a quirk, everyone had them and there were a lot weirder ones on this ship.

So he just turned around and threw his hand up in the air as a "see ya" gesture. He still had hours of paperwork to do since no one else on this ship seemed to want to do it, Pops included.

On his way back he thought about his newest brother. He got a better look at him when opened the door to greet him this morning. He still couldn't tell how old Ace was exactly, definitely not older than twenty-one but he couldn't be any younger than sixteen. But those freckles gave him an eternally youthful look, he supposed it was similar to how he always looked like he was ten years older than he actually was.

But those weren't the weirdest things, Ace was always tense almost like he was ready to run at any given time, of course it could do with being on a formerly enemy ship, but it wasn't like Ace couldn't defend himself, it was only when he was in a large group. There was also how he moved, he seemed so careful when he walked, always extending his foot out, almost like he was checking for something, he scarcely made a sound when he walked which is why Marco felt the need to make sure he was still following him. Ace could only be described as careful.

He shook his head, being careful was a good thing but it betrayed the image he created when Pops told him how he fought Jinbei on even footing and then was still able to move enough to let his crew get away. That didn't exactly describe someone careful.

Marco reached his room, it was probably because he didn't fully trust them yet. He would just need time to drop his defenses and be a little less careful. They were going to be family after all. The first mate's eyes landed on the tall stack of paperwork. Maybe his newest brother would be willing to help with this once he fully joined.

* * *

Ace had resumed sitting on his bed. He had slipped up majorly, how could he had missed the fact that we were at his temporary room? Not only that he had to run into Marco, nearly stumbling back himself.  _How well built is that guy?_  Not for the first time he cursed his blurry eyes, he wished that he had clear sight or no sight at all, because it was hard to tell how close something was, and even then it was an extremely distorted were just colorful blurs that were even delayed in forming. Most of the time he just learned to ignore what he was seeing, and in the year since he had gotten his Devil's Fruit his eyes had continued getting worse, and he was starting to lose his color perception now.

He laughed bitterly, he guessed by next year he'd probably be limited to just detecting light or lack there of, and if he was lucky that would be as bad as if got. Still bad but at least then he could have  _some_  vision.

Ace blew air from his nose and slid down so that he was laying on his side. There were still a few hours before lunch, but he had nothing to do. He needed to explore the ship and learn his way around it, but he didn't want to get lost and from the rumors the Moby Dick was a huge ship, and just the brief walk to the mess hall was still almost a seven minute walk.

Still if he went outside he would have to chance running into someone he already met, or having to make small talk with someone else but he could also maybe run into his crew,. His eyes started growing heavy and he groaned as he felt a sleep attack coming on.

He was awoken sometime later by a series of rhythmic knocks on the door. Ace knew that pattern that was the one he had created with Jared, as a way to communicate. "Come in"

Jared entered, and Ace opened his eyes blinking them to try and clear them some, but as usual it didn't make a shred of difference.

"Jared?" Ace asked quietly.

"Yeah, I brought you food. I watched them make it so its fine." His first mate replied.

Ace was grateful for his first mate's thinking, he probably wouldn't eat anything for dinner either, was this Marco's doing? Probably the first mate seemed like he was an intelligent individual. Still he took the plate in his hand and felt over it.

"Its just a sandwich." Jared answer.

"Ah." Ace took a bite. It was good, even though it was just dried meat and cheese on bread. High quality ingredients. He guessed that's what happened when you were a world renowned pirate you got the best chefs and food for your crew.

"Apparently the Spade Pirates, minus you are going to be moved to a different ship."

"Wha-" Ace tried to yell and swallow at the same time causing himself to choke. Jared dutifully beat on his back until he stopped coughing.

"They're doing what?" Ace cried.

"Putting us on a different ship, and the ship is going to arrive sometime in the afternoon. Something about not being able to support another group of pirates. Which is weird considering their group is on this ship alone is huge"

There was something strange happening but it made sense, most pirate crew by a certain amount of food for a certain amount of people with a couple of extra days. So getting a group of people on board was bound to make the chef nervous especially if they didn't know the group well. Not to mention it would be separating him from the crew. It was a tactically sound move, though wondered why he hadn't been told of this. When he got off this ship he would either have to track down his crew or start another neither idea sound pleasing but it was the hand he had been dealt.

Jared sat in his room with him for a few hours, telling him the layout of the ship and other useful information, before he had to return to the deck with the rest of the crew. "Do you want to come and send us off?"

Ace nodded, waiting for Jared to stand up so that they didn't end up running into each other. Jared started walking out of the room without waiting for Ace. He was glad that he had Jared as a first mate, he didn't act at all like a pirate would after learning that the man they followed couldn't do something a simple as seeing, but he didn't try and coddle him. He guessed that the first time they met was enough to let Jared know he was fine on his own.

It was easier to follow Jared than it was Marco, he knew how the former's life force felt by heart. He could easily make his mental map of the ship without worrying that he would lose his guide. Several minutes later Ace started to hear the sound of a group gathering and he stopped.

"I'd rather not have them see me." Ace spoke up.

"Yeah, it looks like a pretty decent crowd. Must be excited to see some of their other crewmates." Jared replied. "I'm sorry, captain that-"

"Enough, its my fault. I was stupid enough to challenge Whitebeard when I was injured after such a long fight. Do what you have to do to survive. I'll manage"

"But-"

Ace shook his head, he wasn't one for teary farewells. "If I succeed in killing him, I'll come and find you otherwise I'm a failure of a captain"

_Just another thing to add to the list of reasons I shouldn't live._  Ace kept his smile friendly.

"They'll start searching for you if you don't hurry up." He could sense the restless shifting of his crew, but the crowd was large so it was hard to tell. "Give my regards to the guys."

"Captain. I- Thank you"

He heard Jared start to walk off. It was hard for him to listen as his crew started to get ready to board a ship that was going who knows where with who knows who on it. Though, he figured it was a better fate than following a blind captain that got the caught by a group of incredibly dangerous pirates for the sake of pride. They were loyal, and a great crew but he wasn't sure how much longer they could've lasted under his lead without the intervention of Whitebeard's crew.  _I'm still going to kill him._

The other boat showed up and Ace waited a little longer while he heard them quickly get the Spade Pirates on board. Then once he was sure that his crew had boarded the boat safely he began to walk back to his room.

_130 steps straight ahead, there are steps, at least 20 on the first one and 10 on the next._  He referenced, and turned around counting his steps. It had been a long time since he had to map something out. He was a little curious about the rest of the ship, maybe Marco's offer still stood? About showing him around the ship. He would probably needed this thing was freaking huge!

At 130 steps Ace ran his fire along the wall trying to find the door since his counting was off earlier he didn't want to risk running into a wall thinking it was a door especially since he had no idea who was watching him, not that he was sensing anyone near by but he didn't want to take that risk. This time as it turned out he was right in his counting. There was a door here, and he was pretty sure there was only on door on his wall. He opened it, and let his fire examine the room. _Yeah this one is mine._

He walked inside. So now he didn't have a crew to count on. Ace placed his hands on his hips, Whitebeard was making this hard for him. So now he needed to figure out how he was going to kill the old man. Maybe a knife to the heart while he was sleeping? That sounded like it could work, but he would have to find his room and he hadn't been lucky enough to stumble across it in his small journeys. Was the crew being careful to not let him know? That would make sense.

Ace scowled. They didn't trust him in the least and they were trying to say he was apart of the crew? That he was a family member? That their captain wanted to take him in as a son? That last one cause Ace to turn around and punch a wall, though he had forgotten that he was in the middle of the room and was swinging at air, and lost his balance toppling over to the ground.  _Real smooth move._

He didn't feel like getting up so he brought his hands up and rested his head on his arm, staring in the direction his log pose, only knowing where it was by its color. His crew had thought it was strange that he bought himself a log pose even though he couldn't see it. To Ace though, it was just another way to cover up his disability.

The floor was surprisingly comfortable, and Ace didn't feel like moving much, only knowing how to get to two places in the ship and wanting to avoid any encounters with known or unknown crew members. He wasn't sure how long he laid stationary but he could tell that it was almost time to fetch him for dinner, if the worsening of his eyesight due to the lack of light was anything to go by.

Sure enough there was a knock on the door and before he could even ask the person knocking answered.

"Its Marco. Time for dinner, yoi."

Ace pushed himself from the ground, walking over to the door and repeating his actions from the morning, opening the door slowly, but sensing Marco a lot easier now.

"We're going a different way so you can see more of the ship, yoi"

Ace could've laughed. He wasn't going to be seeing much of anything, hell he could barely make out Marco in this low light but he wasn't going to complain, a different route help build him a better map.

"Did you eat lunch?" Marco asked suddenly as he started to walk off.

Ace started to trail behind him. Keeping silent.

"The plate was empty so someone ate it, probably you since you refused to eat breakfast." Marco sounded like he was scolding a child, which made Ace scowl.

The turned sharply and Ace barely stopped himself from walking on, he made sure to mention that in his map. Marco didn't seem like he was going to start anymore conversations. Fine by him, less distractions from his map. This really was easier with his fire, but he had a feeling Marco would notice it.

They took several more hallways and corners before down one hallway Ace heard a familiar voice, but he was too far away to hear what it was saying.

"Pops is giving the nurses a hard time again."

So Witebeard's room was down that hallway, he put an X over it in his mental map. This might be easier than he expected.

A few more minutes of hallways and turns, which were so confusing Ace almost got lost in his own version of the ship, the finally reached the mess hall, he guessed. Marco stopped walking and this time he was sure to stop the moment he didn't hear any more footfalls. Twice in one day was way too suspicious.

"We're a little late to dinner so there will be more people, yoi." Marco stated.

Ace blinked, he wasn't sure why the first mate felt it necessary to tell him there were going to be more people. Was it from how jumpy he had been when they first met? Marco didn't seem like the guy to be that considerate about other people, maybe it was so Ace didn't flip out and torch the place.  _So he probably did see my fire earlier._

Marco didn't tell him was opening the door and Ace was surprised by the sudden rise in noise level and the amount of people in this once space. How big was there mess hall? He knew that it was below deck, but this seemed ridiculous there had to be at least hundred people in this once space alone. He didn't realize that he had taken several steps back in an attempt to reorientate himself.

"Ace"

Ace grit his teeth and straightened himself up. "Didn't expect that many people"

"The Whitebeard crew isn't small. This is just the early crew members"

_There are more?_  Ace hoped that Marco would finish eating quickly so he could leave before a whole lot more people showed up and he guessed Marco was unofficial tour guide and was following him around to make sure that he didn't do anything to harm the ship or crew. Marco once again started moving, and Ace followed after him, he wasn't sure what else to do.

They reached a table and Ace could make out the pink thing that was Izou and White Blob Thatch. He guessed Haruta was there as well in their green whatever. Marco sat down once again leaving the end seat open. Again he brushed his knee over the end to make sure where the bench was exactly, the lack of depth perception sucked.

"So, Ace, what sea are you from?" Once again it was Thatch opening up the questions.

He weighed his options, he could answer the chef and let everyone else join in on asking him random things or he could sit and mope and not eat food. If was talking there was less of a chance of Thatch noticing that he wasn't' eating.  _Questions it is. They probably won't ask anything too deep._

"East Blue"He replied.

He could tell the table was shocked by the fact he answered, but in seconds they were back to conversing.

"The East Sea? Haven't been there in years. The only thing I was impressed about was the sea restaurant there. Great food and a good idea." Thatch responded, his voice loud.

"The Baratie? I remember going there. One of the chefs to be, a little blond kid had quite a mouth on him." Izou spoke next.

Haruta spoke to him, ignoring the conversation starting between Thatch and Izou. "I've never been to East Blue myself. Is it nice there Ace"

"Yeah, the sea is pretty peaceful. Not a lot of rough waves unless it storms"

"Must be why its the weakest sea." Haruta mumbled, and Ace had a hard time hearing them.

"I don't think its weak, just the right pirate hasn't inspired the people yet." As he said that he was thinking of the last face he had of his brother, grinning and barely fourteen.

Haruta was talking again. "Do you miss it"

"Not particularly." He shrugged and that line of conversation was dropped as Haruta joined the debate that Thatch and Izou started.

"Haruta's easy to talk to, don't you think?"

Ace almost jumped out of skin, he forgot that Marco was next to him.  _God dammit, I need to stop losing track of my surroundings. I've never been this bad before._

"Yeah"He found himself agreeing and Marco apparently went back to his food.

Ace let himself focus on where he knew the door was, seeing who was coming and going. It was fairly constant, sometimes it was a person and sometimes it was three. It did seem like more people were entering. The number of people he was sensing was going up and started to tense up.

* * *

Marco finished eating quickly, only picking his pace up slightly when the dinner crowd started to grow. He could tell Ace was getting restless, with amount of people. He wondered why the kid just didn't leave if he didn't like large crowds. Unless... Oh he thought he couldn't go anywhere without a guide.  _He still thinks we're keeping him as a prisoner._

The phoenix was surprised when he answered Thatch's question and held up a small talk with Haruta. If anyone could get someone to open up it would be those two. Thatch was just a naturally friendly and open person not hiding a bad thought in his head (unless someone wasn't eating or hurt one of the family members.) Haruta was one of the youngest on the crew, probably the closest to Ace in age, at twenty years.

It was an improvement from the near silence of the morning, and Marco was thankful no one had acted on their curiosity to meet their newest brother. He was sure Ace would not be as civil with them as he was with that small group this morning.  _Maybe that's how he should get used to the crew, meeting them a few at a time?_

He finished his food, and started to get up hoping that Ace would realize he could leave. Marco wasn't exactly satisfied with this, the younger pirate hadn't really even met Pops yet, though it was still better than Ace so on edge. It might not even be a good thing to have Ace in the same room as Pops anyhow, he was pretty determined to fight.

As he expected Ace stood up after him, and he saw Thatch's look of confusion I'll be back. He mouthed to Thatch while gesturing to Ace and then the door. He started to walk, knowing that Ace would follow behind him. Though when Marco looked back he could see that Pops was walking in on the other side.

"Hey, Ace do you think you can find your own way back? I have to talk to someone" Marco asked.

Ace looked confused, but nodded. "Yeah I can get back"

Marco watched as Ace left the mess hall, he was sure he'd be fine, it wasn't that long of a walk and the younger pirate should know where his room is now. After a few more seconds he headed over to where Pops was situation himself in usual seat, and Thatch threw him another confused look, he waved his hand.

"Pops" Marco greeted, moving to lean against the large arm of the chair.

"Marco! How's the newest family member adjusting" Pops greeted with a jovial tone.

"He doesn't seem all that thrilled about this situation "Marco responded honestly. "Ace is just wary about the whole thing"

Pops nodded. "What do you think about him? I'm sorry for putting you in charge him on top of all your other duties"

"Its fine. I think he seems like a good kid, he'll be a great addition no doubt. But I think there's something more to him but I can't figure out what it is. It doesn't give off a bad vibe, just different."  
The old man nodded. "Everyone is bound to have something off about them. Devil's Fruit users in particular.

Marco shrugged in agreement. It was the first day after all, he was sure Ace would be easier to handle tomorrow, he would have some time to adjust to being on this ship and with new people. He had not doubt the fire user would open up to at least one of them in future, providing he doesn't leave in a month. This ship might do some good for him.

"He doesn't seem like the kid you were talking about hot headed and eager. He's careful" Marco said suddenly.

"What makes you say that?"

"He just moves around like he's expecting something to attack him, and just his movements in general, like he can't relax. He also isn't a fan of big groups I've noticed"

"Give him time Marco" Pops said, patting him on the head softly. "I'd be more worried if he wasn't acting suspicious in this situation"

The first mate nodded. He couldn't help but tell Pops his doubt, the man always had a way of reassuring him even though he logically knew what was happening. It had been awhile since they had gotten a new brother, and everyone was excited, so Marco wanted Ace to relax and accept them.

* * *

Ace hurried down the hallway, while he was surprised that Marco was letting him wander around by himself. The Whitebeard Pirates were arrogant. Oh well, it would be their achilles heel in the end. Instead of going to his room he turned towards where he had heard Whitebeard's laugh. He wanted to know if it was this hallway or one near by. He turned left and walked down the hallway until he almost smacked into something.  _A wall?_

Running his hand along the 'wall' he felt to see if it was just that, when he felt something cool. Metal. Ace ran his hand up it, it was a door handle, a large one. This was a door then. and he guessed whose room it belonged too. There should only be one person on this ship that large.

Curiosity settled Ace turned back the way he came, just in case Marco finished his conversation and came to check on him. It would be easy for him to assassinate Whitebeard now, he wasn't that far from Ace's room. But how?

He wondered if they had left his belt with his dagger alone. He didn't feel it when he was messing with crates and barrel earlier. Though it didn't mean that it wasn't on a hook on the all, someplace that he didn't check.

Ace walked at a quicker pace, not sure how much longer he would be alone in the hallways. He got to the room and was able to find the handle no problem. Once he was fully inside and the door was sure he let his fire out crawling up the wall seeing if they did hang it on the wall. No such luck.

He would have to steal a knife from the kitchen. Ace wasn't used to only eating once a day so his stomach rumbled quietly, yeah he would need to get to the kitchen. There was still a long time between him carrying out his plan, so he let himself doze lightly.

When Ace woke up he was sure that it was late enough he could carry out his plan with minimal chance of him getting caught. He took his cowboy hat off from around his neck and tried to set it on the night standing, failing several times before he just decided to find it with his fire. The orange of the hat would give him away, to any sharp eyed guards.

Quietly he snuck out of his room shutting the door behind making sure that it latched enough that it would stay closed but make barely a sound if he needed to come back to it. After breathing in once he sensed there was no one nearby and began his journey to where he hoped the kitchen was. Ace crept along the corridors until he reached the mess hall, taking the first way Marco showed him (it also happened to be the fastest.)

He opened the door and attempted to sense if there was anyone in the room. Again he got nothing. So he let his fire out and spread it across the room, letting it tell him the dimensions and where the tables and benches were, this way he would have one more escape route, and also knew where more of the doors were. Ace knew that two of them let out into hallways, and there were three other doors.

He frowned, he could tell one was larger than the others so he guessed that's the one Whitebeard went through, so that lead to his room as well. The other two doors were a mystery. Ace walked over to the closest of the two and opened it, letting his fire out after he made sure that he was still alone. The sides of this room were irregular, all square in shape but there were dips and raises. As well as round objects (he assumed those were barrels). Ace sniffed the air, it smelled like food.  _So I'm in the kitchen or the pantry._

Ace let his fire climb upwards, most of the squares didn't go past three feet or so. They were cabinets, and Ace walked over to make sure thats what they were. He wasn't disappointed. Then the taller squares were bigger cabinets? Small pantries? A refrigerator? Ace walked over to the next closest on and opened it, he didn't feel a gust of cold air, but after he ran his fire along the inside he could tell this is someplace they store the things that won't go bad. Across the room and to the left there was another tall cabinet so he went over to that. This time there was a blast of cool air indicating that it was at the very least an ice box. This time he reached in, not wanting to risk melting the ice. There was some sort of round food item he picked it up and lit the tip of his finger. It was red, most likely an apple. Ace wasn't going to complain food was food and this would be enough for now, he was running out of time.

He stuffed the entire thing in his mouth and chewed, smiling fondly as remembered the first time he and Luffy had eaten apples together finding out that they ate the fruit the same way and it was so unlike anyone else. Then he swallowed, closing the ice box with one hand he let his fire see if there were anymore door like things.  _Only the way I came in? That sucks._

Before he left he let his fire climb even further up the walls looking for anything that was similar to a knife. Thankfully he found the entire knife rack. He walked over to it, and picked up a blade, it was heavy but he would've cut his hand if wasn't a logia type, so they were sharp. Ace clutched it in his hand as he returned to the mess hall. Now he had to go find Whitebeard.

He walked out of the way he and Marco had come in for dinner, walking through the hallways easily, relying on his mental map, but he kept the knife low just in case there was someone walking around in the middle of the night for more innocent reasons. Ace reached Whitebeard's door, and felt for the handle. Once he had it he gave an experimental tug, it was heavier than he thought but it still opened out, again a better advantage for him.

Now Ace crouched down low, sneaking into the room and holding the door so it closed silently. Once inside he stood, tightening his grip on the knife. In front of him the strongest man in the world lay asleep, snoring away like he wasn't about to get killed. Ace tightened his jaw and adjusted his grip on the knife. He inhaled once and jumped forward a yell tearing from his lips as his flames leapt out from his body.

The next thing he knew was he was flying through a wall, after being punched. There's no way the old man could've responded to his sneak att- oh yeah the yelling probably gave him away. Ace groaned and gripped at his now sore head as some crew members scolded him for disrupting other people's sleep. The old guy could hit, Ace would give him that, but he would be prepared next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sub chapter chat session, I may have one every chapter if I feel something needs to be clarified, or if a reviewer asks a question.
> 
> First thing, thank you to the reviewer that pointed out the spelling mistakes, it was autocorrected and I don't know why stupid electronics. Which is to say if there are any blinding spelling errors or grammar errors tell me and I'll probably fix them. 
> 
> Second thing, to the reviewer who asked, on fanfiction, if Ace had observation Haki, the answer is yes, and I'll most likely have it explained in the story. But as of right now he doesn't know that's what its called since he's done it since he was a kid and he didn't really have that much of a chance to run into any haki users pre-Whitebeard. 
> 
> My third point is my clarifying point. So Ace's eyesight it extremely poor, and therefore doesn't rely on it often, since to him Thatch is a white blob and Izou's kimono's are just pink. So since he doesn't rely on it much he generally tends not to care what he sees, unless it strikes him. (In writing terms I may describe things he's seeing and other times I won't it just depends on what's happening.) Also related, I do have some photo's of what Ace's vision would roughly look like, so if you're having trouble envisioning it, I'll post it to my tumblr at some point. (link on profile) 
> 
> Later! ~IF


	3. Chapter 2: Ace Goes for a Swim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace goes for a swim, thinks a lot, and Marco is just helpful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap guys! Thank you for the support! Now onto the actual author's note!  
> Yo! What's up with these fast updates? Mainly me avoiding life, but it works out for you guys in the end. Also does anyone bother to read the chat thing at the bottom? I'm just curious, cause I'm going to keep doing it, but just wondering. Let's begin!  
> I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE  
> See you at the bottom!

He would do it this time. Ace would take Whitebeard’s head. It had been a week since his first attempt, and he spent that week planning. There was no way he could fail. He had some idea on how to navigate the ship. Thanks to Marco giving him that tour on third day he had been on board, he had even been shown where the armory was. _Stupid move._

Ace was now heading towards the uppermost deck, knowing that Whitebeard would be sitting in his chair there, Marco had told him that’s where he could find the captain most days if he ever wanted to talk (which he didn’t thank you very much).He was also finding out that it was very hard to be stealthy with a giant axe strapped to one’s back.

 _Who even needs an axe this big?_ He shook his head, clearing it. Focus.

Ace reached the top deck, he could tell by the breeze hitting his face and sudden lightness. He moved towards the main part of the deck, hoping he wasn’t drawing any attention, and sensed for the presence he associated with Whitebeard, the biggest and the strongest. Then he backed away, moving the ace from his back he focused on Whitebeard’s presence. Ace took a deep breath and started running, a yell tearing from his lips. _Shit. Fuck. Theres no way they didn’t hear me._

He kept running not wanting to back out now. His fire told him that he was approaching the point where he should jump, when the trail of fire he let out was about half its distance. He gathered up the strength in his legs and jumped, he made sure the axe was fully behind him at the pinnacle of the jump and as he started to decline he started his swing.

Ace felt the air moved and then he felt the contact of a fist, this punch was a lot harder than the first one. _Ow. Shit._

Then he was flying.

It was a short flight. As he started to fall, he tensed up, prepared to meet the hard wood of the deck. Only he didn’t, he met it briefly as his body crashed through the railing.

 _Oh no._ Was all he managed to think before his body seized up due to the cold of the sea water. It felt like he had lead flowing through his veins, he had never felt this before. _The curse?_ He had a lot more sympathy for Luffy now.

Ace sank fast, and even though his eyes were open he couldn’t tell if there was any light. _Fuck._

Now he was panicking. Failing his arms desperately trying to get them to move so he could swim no one else would and save him. Frankly the drowning wasn’t what was bother him or the being left to die (he kind of expected it anyway), no, it was the fact that he couldn’t see. He was terrified if this is what his eyes would eventually end up showing him. For this first time since he woke up with a blurry ceiling when he was ten he was afraid of losing his sight. He couldn’t live in a world of perpetual dark. He was fire, light itself, but he couldn’t even light his own vision.

Something was grabbing at him. He wasn’t expecting it so he lashed out with arm, it somehow jerking to life to make a semi-effective punch. It made contact with something, it didn’t feel like any sort of fish, and it was solid but bent under the force. Almost like he was hitting someone in their nose. _Did I just punch a mermaid? Great. Just my luck. Hit the one thing that would save me, and I punch it. Fucking wonderful._

He was definitely going to drown the thing holding him would let go; but, instead whatever was grabbing at him continued to do so, and thankfully the arms felt like they were human and not sea king teeth. Ace remained tense as he felt his position get adjusted by whoever it was.  
He felt his arms get wrapped around what he guessed was a neck and then they started to ascend. _So, they're still saving me? Must be a nice person_. Ace let himself be pulled to the surface, he wanted to help but his limbs were still heavy.   
Eventually they broke the surface and it took him a few seconds to get his bearings back, hearing sound, inhaling fresh air. I guess I didn’t swallow much water.   
"I got him!"  
That voice... Thatch? _He jumped in after me?_  
He was honestly surprised. Thatch started to swim towards what he assumed was the ship. Too stunned to do much else Ace kicked his legs slowly in an attempt to help, but his movements were still awkward and sluggish. His body was mostly limp as he went from hanging around Thatch’s neck, it had to be he felt it move with each breath the chef took, to being carried over one shoulder like a sack. He closed his eyes, too exhausted to keep them open or it was a sleep attack. At the moment either of them were a better option that being hounded on by the crew for trying to kill their captain again.

* * *

Thatch was surprised when he heard Ace yell, even more so when he saw the teen running at Pops back with a large axe. The chef almost felt sorry for the boy, attacking Pops in the back was a sure way to get him irritated at you. _Though that swing has some power in it._

A few seconds later he was proven right as Ace was punched across the deck, and he knew Pops planned for the kid to catch himself on the railing. Instead, the limp teen went right through it, and started to head towards the water. Pops didn’t miscalculate he knew his strength but their newest members reaction was weird.

_I know he could’ve stopped his fall, he looks athletic enough._

He heard the splash and the rest of the crew spent a few more seconds looking at each other bewildered. Thatch locked eyes with Marco and with a nod from the first mate he was off running to the hole in the railing, taking his shoes off as he ran.

Without a second’s hesitation he was diving into the water, it was chillier than normal, he guessed they could be closing in on an autumn or winter island. He spent some time trying to reorient himself and locate the fire teen. Once he did so, he saw Ace looking straight at him.

Fear was apparent on his face, and Thatch was taken aback. The young pirate either showed anger, confusion, or indifference. It reminded him of how young the kid actually was. Ace looked like a kid.

Thatch needed no further urging to start swimming. He wondered if this was Ace’s first time getting knocked into the water with his Devil’s Fruit power. The other commanders had admitted it freaked them out. Still, Ace’s eyes were wide and darting around, as if he was searching for something, his lips were pressed tightly together to not let any water in. His body was also rigid. The chef had fished several fruit users out of the water before but none of them had looked this frightened.

Not for the first time Thatch was grateful for his strong upper and lower body, making the swim to Ace a lot easier and faster. He noticed no change in the teen’s face as he drew closer. _What does he think I’m going to do?_

When he wrapped his arm around Ace’s waist to slow his descent, the kid freaked. Thatch was surprised when a fist struck him in the face, most of the blow hitting his nose. _I know he saw me, so why? Some kind of traumatic flashback?_

He was a lot more careful the second time he tried to wrap Ace around him, wrapping an arm around the teen’s waist securely and then moving the teen’s own arms to wrap around his neck. Thatch made sure that Ace was secure before starting to surface. It was harder going up with only one arm and basically dead weight hanging on to him.

They finally surfaced, and Ace took in a shaky breath, but didn’t cough. He could feel the fire teen’s strength return with the subtle tightening of his arms. Thatch could see his brothers looking over the deck shifting anxiously, Ace had drifted to the side further than he had thought. He’d have to swim over to the ship before they got a rope thrown to him, still he needed to let his family know that they had surfaced.

“I got him!”

Ace’s face went from confused to completely shocked. The change happened in a blink of an eye. _Did he really think we would let him drown?_

His brothers were moving towards them now. Ace was out of danger from drowning, he started to swim over. He could tell the teen was trying to help, kicking his legs in time with Thatch’s own strokes, but there was no power in the kicks. One of the crewmembers threw down the rope ladder, and Thatch finished swimming over to it. He shifted Ace from around his neck to over his shoulder. The teen was being oddly compliant, but he ignored it in favor of getting out of the cold water.  
The climb was the easiest part despite the extra weight, he noticed Ace was lighter than a guy of his size was. Thatch growled, the kid hadn’t been eating, probably hasn’t since lunch on his first day. Brat. Still he finished his climb and was met with a circle of worried crew members. Marco at the front, he looked in different but there was something about his stance that told him otherwise. Izou and Haruta were next to the first mate, their worry clearly displayed.

He carefully took Ace from his shoulder and laid the kid down on the deck, surprised to see that the kid had his eyes closed and chest rising and falling rhythmically. _He fell asleep?_

The others seemed to have the same thoughts.

“Is he okay? Why’s he asleep?” Haruta asked. “None of the others fall asleep after they fall into the ocean.”

Izou shrugged. “We don’t know Ace that well.”

Marco’s gaze lifted from Ace’s sleeping form to Thatch himself. “What happened to your face?”

“He,” The chef pointed at Ace. “got startled and started swinging wildly, got a lucky punch in.”

The phoenix made the face like he was thinking. “Let’s take him to the infirmary.”

Thatch raised an eyebrow, wondering why Marco had decided to accompany him. He would ask when they weren’t surrounded by their comrades. He bent down and picked up Ace, now that the teen wasn’t in danger of drowning from inhaled fluid.

Everyone else started to disperse when as they all assumed their newest brother would be fine since none of the commanders were freaking out. Thatch and Marco started to head to the infirmary, the teen’s light snores breaking the silence between them. Neither spoke until the door leading to the outside was shut behind him.

“There was something else wasn’t there?” Marco stated, but his voice made it a question.

“Yeah. He was afraid before he hit me, and I know he saw me. Maybe it was some sort of flashback.”

Marco’s lips twitched downward, but otherwise said nothing.

“What are you thinking?” Thatch asked.

“I’m not sure, yoi.”

They fell back into silence. Not speaking until they reached the infirmary and even that was only to tell the nurse what had happened. Thatch knew his brother was thinking about something important and he didn’t want to interrupt him.

“Its almost dinner. “ Marco said suddenly.

“Oh yeah, but what about Ace?” The chef was unwilling to leave him alone, all to curious to ask about the time underwater.

“I’m Izou or Haruta will sit with him if you ask either of them to. I have to talk to Pops.” Marco said.

Thatch frowned. “Okay, I’ll see if I can find one of them.”

Marco nodded and started walking off.

* * *

The first mate was stumped. He was certain there was something about the fire teen that was hidden and with passing day there was more evidence to support it. The carefulness, dislike of big groups, the odd subtle movements. Marco was still confused about the fire on the first day, he had finally identified the feeling he got from it, the flame was almost curious like it was exploring. He hadn’t ever felt a flame that had emotion, but then again it was a logia type’s fire. He knew from experience that each fruit had its own twist to it. His own was extremely attracted to fire, and his phoenix was excited about an animated flame and kept nudging him to get Ace to release his flame.

He doubted he could get the teen that willing, not until he fully joined the family. Marco sighed. Thatch’s words bothered him. If Ace did have some kind of trauma, it would explain a lot of his behavior, but how could he get the teen to open up to him. He was barely able to get him  to take a tour of the ship.

Marco was unaware of where he was heading, but he found himself only a few feet away from Pops chair. He figured he should ask the old man what he knew about Ace.

“Pops.” The first mate called as he walked to the chair.

“How’s Ace?” He asked, his eyes filled with worry, but it was neatly hidden away.

“He’s fine. Fell asleep the moment Thatch pulled him above water, yoi.” He also knew that his father was feeling bad about punching one of his sons into the sea (even though said son fully deserved it.)

“That’s good.” Pops sighed. “Something troubling you?”

“Its nothing, probably. Just thinking.” Marco answered.

His father left it at that. He would ask when this whole situation was forgotten. Though he was certain that Ace would be much less reluctant to join the crew even after an accident like today. It would take a lot to get that little bit of trust back, but Marco was willing to work for it.

Even though he decided not to share his worries, he still couldn’t help but wonder what the other had gone through, if that was the case at all. Out of all the situations it was the most likely, there were a lot of pirates on this ship that became pirates because something horrible happened to them and they couldn’t stay at home. Hell, Marco himself was like that, and he knew that he didn’t want people prying. He told his family when he was comfortable enough. Though it took some prodding from Thatch, who had joined the crew after him but the only member before him was Pops himself and that didn’t count. It took him years to even tell his father.

Wait... Marco’s thoughts stopped abruptly. That might help telling Ace something personal, letting the younger pirate know that he trusts him. It worked on himself with Thatch so it was worth a shot, the worst that could happen was it didn’t work.

But what he could tell him?

* * *

_It was dark and cold. Ace looked around, frowning when he couldn’t see anything. He tried to move only to hear the clinking of chains, and the metal clasped around his wrists. Shifting slightly he tried to figure what he was bound to. A wall maybe? Another tug and he found that was the case. Stone was biting into his back, and when he shifted he could only feel a blinding pain._

_**So I’m also injured?** He frowned. All he remembered was being catapulted into the sea. This felt like someone had taken something and run it up and down his back until he was raw and bleeding. It hurt like all hell, and Ace stopped moving._

_Now that he determined that he was bound and injured it made more sense why he couldn’t see. He was probably in some sort of dungeon, which was too dark for him to see anything. He was most likely captured, as well. Marines he decided. Ace chewed on his lips, he thought he would never think that the Whitebeard Pirate’s would be preferable to anything. At least on the Moby Dick he could still see things, even though they were blurred beyond all chance of deciphering._

_A memory fluttered into his mind, with him laughing with Marco and Thatch and he furrowed his brows, he never laughed like that, not since Sabo died (even when he Luffy goofed off) and he most certainly wouldn’t laugh with those two. But for some reason he knew this was a memory and that confused him beyond everything else._

_He shifted again. **Wait, if this is sea stone, then why can I move so freely?**_

_Ace swallowed. His chest seizing up, it wasn’t possible! He could see this morning! He could make out the pink thing Izou wore and Haruta was still wearing that green thing. It was sunny, he knew this. So he took a few calming breaths, and tried to summon his fire. It leapt to the surface as eagerly as it always had, he could feel it dancing on his skin. The metal grew warmer. But his eyes were still seeing nothing. He turned up the intensity of his flame, but it only caused his cuffs to start to melt. Nothing was registering._

_**No. No. No. No. No.** He chanted. This couldn’t happen. His breath was coming quicker, his flames dancing in time with his breath, the patterns wild._

_“The pirate is finally awake.” That voice was not the least bit friendly._

_Ace pushed himself away from it as best he could, yelling out as the melted metal tore at his skin. **Right, forgot, still hurts like a bitch if its molten and caused by my own flame.**_

_“Where are you going?” The man spoke, his voice drooled cruelty. “Can’t you see that there’s no escape?”_

_Someone chuckled in the background. “No he can’t. He’s blind.”_

_“Oh right!” The first one laughed._

_Ace stilled that second voice sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it. Before he could chase down the memory of that second voice something heavy connected with his chest._

* * *

Ace shot up in bed, reminding him of a week ago when he did the same thing. But he quickly found that unlike that day, there wasn’t any light filtering in from the window. His breath was starting to come quicker, did he really lose his sight when he went into the sea? He let his fire out on instinct, and sighed in relief when he could see the red-orange glow of his flame.

Bad dream. It was just a bad dream. Ace chanted mentally. He hadn’t had a dream like that since he was little, way before Luffy was in even his life. It was probably because of his unplanned trip into the ocean. The dark was because it was night outside.

His breathing started to slow down, and his fire was starting to become more controlled. He wondered how he didn’t wake anyone, the nurses were down the hall and fire wasn’t exactly quiet. It was a small blessing so he would take it. He settled back down onto the bed, curled up into a tight ball. The only part that was away from him was one of his hands which he lit. A small flame flicked to life, strong and steady.

It gave him comfort, to be able to distinguish between the darkness of the rest of the room and his hand. That nightmare... it had been too real for comfort. There were so many questions it raised, and part of the reason he reacted so strongly was because it didn’t feel like the monsters underneath the bed type but demons inside his head type. The flame died down due to his inattention but he didn’t mind, it was still bright enough for him.

He wasn’t sure how long he laid with awake with the flame burning but at some point he fell back asleep, without any dreams. Ace only knew he fell asleep because he was waking up, and this time the room was drenched in the early morning rays of light. He sat up and rubbed his head, turning it side to side listening for anyone. For some reason he was alone, the nurses really need to pay attention to their patients.There were still a few hours before breakfast, and he saw no need to stay in here any longer. So he stretched, and stood up.

He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he was heading out of the room, letting his fire guide him. This was the one part of the ship he hadn’t spent much time in, he wasn’t fond of medical officials, they tended to give him bad news (narcolepsy and blindness both came from the mouth of a doctor.) Also, if the nurses decided to give him a physical, there was an incredibly high chance that they would find out that he was blind.

The deck was quiet for once, and he sucked in the air. Relaxing thanks to the sea air, it was so much better than the stagnant infirmary air. He let his fire lead him to the stern of the ship since there wasn't anyone near by to see it. The sea was calm, barely rocking the boat. He took another deep breath, letting the salty breeze sink deep into his lungs.

Ace wasn’t sure how many hours passed him as he stared out into the blurry blue of the sea. But he could tell that it had been several by the time he heard footsteps, he recalled his fire slowly so the person wouldn’t notice.

“The nurses are upset with you, left without permission, yoi.” Ah, it was Marco.

The older moved to stand next to him. Ace just shrugged, he could tell that he was being stared at. A few seconds ticked by before he was reminding of nearly drowning yesterday by the lapping of the waves, and the impulse to ask why Thatch saved him struck.

“Why did Thatch jump in after me?” He always did have a hard time controlling his impulses.

“You were drowning.” Marco replied.

“I’m aware.” Ace spoke harshly. “But why? You owe me nothing!”

“You’re our brother.” The other said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ace clenched his teeth, he was tired of that word being thrown at him. The only brothers that he had were Sabo and Luffy. Not a single person on this ship. He snapped.

“Why? Why do you consider me your brother? You don’t know me. You know nothing about me!” His voice was a dangerous level, more of a growl.

Ace’s thoughts were coming fast, but thankfully he was able to filter himself. These guys didn’t know about Sabo and Luffy, or how he was the charge of the Hero Garp. Hell, they couldn’t figure out he was blind (him hiding it be damned, it was actually really obvious he knew.) He knew that they would take back their invitation the moment they learned who his father was. He was born with the blood of a monster and disabled, he wouldn’t last as a member of this crew.

Marco said nothing as Ace tried to calm himself, but he wasn’t able to stop one last question from slipping past his lips. “Why do you call him Pops?”

That time Marco did answer, barely a seconds after the question was asked. “Because he calls us his sons.” He paused and Ace wondered if that was the entire answer, then he continued. “To the rest of the world we’re all just outcasts. It makes us happy, yoi. Its just a word but it makes us happy!”

Marco’s voice, it sounds so light and pleased, Ace wondered what kind of expression the other was wearing. But the words hit him a second later and stopped him cold. He knew what it felt like to be an outcast. It was fighting daily for just scraps of respect, it was being a kid in an adult world swinging first so that the words didn’t have time to hurt. Ace knew very well what it felt like to not fit in anywhere; he also knew that you probably wouldn’t ever fit in and that’s why he and his brothers had been so close, because the only place they ever felt like they belonged was with each other. _Could I really have that feeling again? The feeling of belonging? Having a family that cared. Is it possible for me to call someone my father?_

The last thought made him tense up. He hadn’t ever really had a father, his blood father never did anything for him, just haunting him from beyond the grave with the name of Pirate King. He was also certain that the man wouldn’t have been much of an actual father if had lived. All he had was bad blood, was it possible for him to choose his father like he choose his brothers?

Ace held onto the railing, not sure he could hold himself up. He was confused and shocked. The man he had wanted to kill was offering to take him in as a son. How could anyone, especially a pirate, be that kind?

* * *

Marco watched as Ace went still after his words. he saw several different emotions flash across the young pirates face, from sadness to something bittersweet to confusion. The first mate instinctively knew that this was something he needed to let the teen settle on his own, so he didn’t speak. His phoenix stirred slightly at the feel of fire brushing past him, but it was so fast that he guessed he had just imagined it, he hadn’t let the pheonix out to play in a long time.

He tilted his head upwards, examining the early morning sky. It was a mix of purple and blue right above them but it gradually got brighter as it got closer to the sun, finally settling on a halo of yellow-orange. A day of smooth sailing, then. Marco smiled, these were the best days, not much to do but relish in the feeling of calm sea water and the presence of the family. That’s when he remembered that he was supposed to be changing the Watch.

“I have to go. So I’ll see you around.”

Ace just made a sound of acknowledgement.

 _Well, its better than being ignored._ He turned and walked towards the cabins.

It was around lunch when he realized that he hadn’t seen Ace since their talk this morning. He normally saw that teen at least twice before lunch and once before dinner. Is he still at the stern?

Their conversation this morning couldn’t have been that shocking to the teen. Could it? It was the fact of the sea that once you joined Whitebeard or he claimed you as a son, you were a brother to the rest of the crew. Marco frowned and headed off to find the wayward fire user (please don’t let him be plotting another assassination attempt).

Not at the stern. He pursed his lips as he stared at the empty portion of the deck. His room?

The walk to Ace’s temporary room, it would be changed to one nearer to the rest of the crew once it was official that he was a part of the crew. Marco knocked on the door, knowing that Ace wouldn’t appreciate the Whitebeard Pirate’s normal disregard for privacy at the moment, or ever.

“Who?”

 _Right, he doesn’t like not knowing who's coming into his room._ “Its Marco, yoi.”

“Come in”

That was new. All other times the teen had been the one opening the door, and he hadn’t let anyone else in the room since he had gotten aboard. Marco slowly opened the door, and walked inside, the room looked unchanged except for the orange cowboy hat on the nightstand and the figure laying on the bed.

Ace was on his back staring up at the ceiling with his arms being used for pillows, his legs were crossed. The only change occurred when Ace flicked his eyes over to where Marco had entered and then it went straight back to the ceiling. He noticed that the yellow shit was discard somewhere and the young teen’s body was on display. Ace looked a little skinnier than he had when had first come aboard but Marco figured that was just a trick of his imagination even though he knew the teen hadn’t been eating.

“Did you want something?” Ace asked, for once there wasn’t a lot of hostility in the tone, reminding him of the nearly whispered question this morning.

Marco could tell that all the fire user needed was one more push and he would be part of the family for real. Something inside of the first mate was telling him that Ace would do well on this ship, that the teen needed a place like this. He agreed with that part of him.

“Its lunch, yoi.” Marco shrugged. “Wanted to see if you wanted to go down with me.”

It was a half-truth so he didn’t feel as bad as he would outright lying.

“I’m good.”

The older pirate arched an eyebrow, the kid had to be hungry going more than a week without eating, probably part of the reason he bailed on the nurses. He knew the next time that Ace was in the infirmary he wouldn’t nearly as lax treatments. The nurses were terrifying when it came to patients.

“Okay.”

Marco left, guessing that any longer would have the teen getting riled up, and that would be the opposite of what he wanted. He was so close to getting the younger pirate to let someone into those well built walls, nobody was that cautious for no reason. Not for the first time he wondered about the fire teen’s past.

He was joined on the walk to the mess hall by Izou.

“Any luck with our resident pyro?”

Marco shrugged. “Maybe.”

Izou sighed. “He’s so stubborn. Can’t he see that he’s not at all into trying to take Pop’s head anymore, if he was he’d be trying every opportunity.”

The first mate stayed silent.

“Do you think he’ll actually join?” Izou asked.

“Yeah, I think he will. He just needs some time.”

They were greeted by Thatch when they got into the mess hall, the chef setting down plates at their usual spots, one was sitting in the spot where Ace had taken up residence this last week.

“Not coming today. I’ll take it down to him later, yoi.” Marco answered the unspoken question.

“He doesn’t eat it anyway.” Thatch mumbled angrily. “If that kid is as good of a pirate as his bounty says he is then he should know to eat at every opportunity.”

“Haven’t you been missing fruit recently?” Izou chuckled. “Ace isn’t starving himself, but he isn’t exactly feasting.”

Thatch just grumbled something that no one could make out.

Today’s lunch was a quick potato soup, one of the simplest meals the chefs made, but despite everyone’s different backgrounds they all loved it. Even Ace would, if he decided to eat it.

“So Haruta is on watch right?” Thatch inquired after a few minutes of everyone eating.   
“Yeah, they took the long shift, won’t be done until dinner.” Marco answered, he had been the one to get the other commander up, why they always decided to take the long shift would forever be a mystery.

The three commanders ate the rest of their meal in silence. By the time they finished, Ace’s bowl was only a little warm, well the teen was made of fire so he should be able to warm it up. Marco grabbed as he left the mess hall.

* * *

  
Ace stayed looking up at the blurry form of the ceiling. He had a chance, to start over here and now as someone else’s son but could he so easily give up his ambition to be Pirate King? Luffy’s face sprung into his mind, he guessed he could let go of that dream for his little brother’s sake (he doubted it was his dream in the first place, since he so easily let it go). So then what reason did he have to live? If he joined this crew he couldn’t kill Whitebeard any more, so then what could he do?

He rolled over to his side, his hand gripping at the fabric of the pillow case. Everyone had to have a goal its what kept people alive and able to live on despite all of the horrible things that happened. Ace guessed he could find his goal later on if he joined. Becoming a Whitebeard Pirate would be a heavy blow to his pride, and it's one of the few things good about him that he had left.

There was a knock at the door that startled him out of his thoughts.

“Who?”

“Marco.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be eating?” Ace called back.

“I finished. Brought you your portion.” Marco answered.

At the mention of food Ace’s stomach growled. He covered it with his hands hoping it wasn’t loud enough to go through the door. The fruit he had stolen wasn’t enough to curb his huge appetite, he missed the days he got the largest share because he was the one that made the kill. But to take this food, it would mean that he trusted them to some degree not to kill him. They had been rather nice about him not eating food at dinner. Ace pushed himself into a sitting position. This would be the test, if he ate this and didn’t die then he would join because that meant they weren’t trying to stab him in the back. And at this point he had nothing to lose, he would have to start over either way not knowing who’s ship or where the ship was that had his crew on board.

“Come in.” He found it odd that the first mate waited to be invited in and not just barge in since he was a commanding authority on this ship.

Ace heard the door click open and Marco walk slowly inside. For whatever reason Ace had gotten used to the older pirate’s presence, the calm temperance on this ship. Marco had been the first Ace had trusted, and within only days of meeting him and it frightened him, he had never given trust away so freely. It must be something to do with how his fire reacted and almost clung to the man whenever he had it out and Marco was near.

He focused on Marco’s presence and listened as the older got closer. Eventually the footsteps stopped not far from him and tilted his head curiously, wondering what was going on.

“Here.”

 _Oh, that’s right, he brought food. I’m supposed to take it from him. I can’t see it! He’ll know, what am I going to do?_ Ace  thought with increasing panic, he said the first thing that came to mind.   
“Set it on the nightstand.” Well that solved the problem of having to take it from Marco himself, and with luck the older pirate wouldn’t think much of it.

He heard something being set down and he could only guess that it was his food. Ace looked over to it hoping that it wasn’t something obvious. “What is it?”

“Its potato soup.”

Well at least it wasn’t something simple. Ace waited a few seconds thinking that Marco was going to leave and surprised when he didn’t.

Marco was speaking, and the tone of his voice caused Ace to listen. “Hey, how long are you going to keep risking your life like this?”

 _Is he talking about my lack of eating? Or is going to tell me to get of the ship because he found out about my father or my blindness?_ Ace tensed.

“Make up your mind already!” That was a lot more emotion than he had heard from Marco in the short time they knew each other. “You can’t possibly take the old man’s head the way you are now, so are you going to get off this ship and start over or are you going to stay here and accept Whitebeard’s mark?”

He winced when Marco brought up the fact he wouldn’t be able to kill Whitebeard at this moment of time, but he was surprised to hear his thoughts echoed out loud about starting over or staying. This was a one time chance, and he didn’t know what he should do. Sabo would know, but his brother wasn’t here, or even alive to help him with his problem. He would have to figure it out on his own.

With a sigh he closed his eyes, and rested his forehead on his clasped hands. If he missed this chance, he might not be able to get another invitation to a family again, he wouldn’t forgive himself if he missed out on having a family because he was prideful. He’d regret it for the rest of his life. Ultimately that’s what sealed the deal, he promised to live without regrets.

“Marco... I...” Ace started, unable to form the thought correctly. “I’ll take his mark.”

He could hear the sharp intake of breath from the first mate.

“Really? You’re going to join?”

Ace raised his head, and hoped he was making eye contact with Marco. “Yes.”

“Well, we’ll have to tell Pops he has a new son, yoi. When do you want to do that?” Ace felt bad when he flinched at the word ‘son’. Marco’s voice stayed the same tone, but his words were a little faster, was he excited?

“After dinner?” He asked quietly. As much as he was sure the other would like him to go as soon as possible, he had to mentally prepare himself. This was a big gamble, joining without spilling any of his secrets. He was scared to see the repercussions if they ever did come.

“That works, I’ll get you after Pops returns to his room, that way you can tell him in private, yoi.”

Marco really was a considerate person. It made him feel slightly better about putting so much trust in a guy he’s never seen the eyes of. Ace listened as Marco left the room, saying something about how he would be back later, and once again Ace was alone. A feeling in the back of his head told him this would be the last true alone time he got after taking the mark of Whitebeard.

He didn’t get much time to think about what he may have just gotten himself into as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. Oh, right, that’s three major secrets I have.

Ace awoke to gentle tapping on the door. “Who?”

“Marco. You ready?”

The young teen stood up and stretched, inhaling the air with a yawn, and smelling something that smelled faintly of potatoes. _Ah, yeah, I didn’t eat it. I’ll just eat in the mess hall as a member in the morning._

“One second.”

He grabbed his yellow shirt and put it on, along with groping around the nightstand for his orange hat, wrinkling his nose when he stuck his hand in the soup. Ace wished he could use his fire to find his hat, but Marco was too close to risk it. The teen licked his hand clean while he used the other one to find the orange cowboy hat one. He wiped his hand off on his short and secured his hat on his head.

With one more confidence inspiring inhale Ace strolled to the door, once again opening it slowly to make sure he didn’t hit Marco in the face.

“Took you long enough, yoi.” The tone was teasing.

“Sorry, had to find my hat.” Well, it wasn’t a lie.

Instead of respond Marco just started walking, and Ace followed behind, glad that he was finally able to identify the first mate’s presence quickly. It made this whole pretending like he wasn’t blind thing a lot easier.

They walked a route Ace knew well, it was the long way to the mess hall. Must be a shortcut to Whitebeard’s room. The trip was too short for his liking, he still had no idea what he was going to say. _Thank you narcolepsy for making my life even more difficult._

Ace was cut from his mental cursing of his condition when Marco knocked once and then opened the doors. The hinges creaked a little.

“Pops, I brought Ace.”

 _Whitebeard is expecting me? No time to stumble around words then._ Ace pulled himself up as high as he could trying to make himself look as confident as he could.

Once instead Marco shut the door behind him and Ace gave it a look like it personally betrayed him.

“Marco says you have something to tell me?” Whitebeard’s voice wasn’t loud like it usually was, it was soft and gentle.

 _Not words I thought I would ever associate with the strongest man in the world, but today is the day for surprises._  

Ace straightened himself up further, and once again praying that he was actually looking his soon to be captain in the eye and not just in his general direction. “I would like to join your crew, if you’ll have me?”

There was silence for a few moments and Ace started to sweat nervously was this all really a joke? These guys don’t seem like they would do anything that cruel, but you could never be too sure with pirates.

“I’m the one that asked you to join in the first place, welcome aboard!”

Ace was suddenly wrapped up by something large and hard and pressed into something larger and harder. He was about to flip out and get out of this vice grip when he heard a heartbeat. Oh! He’s hugging me? This is odd. The last time someone had hugged him it had been Luffy right before he set off on his voyage, this hug didn’t lack any of the emotions he got from Luffy’s hugs, so maybe he did make the right choice.

After several more seconds, Ace was wondering if he was going to be suffocated, he was finally let out of the hug. He took several lungful gulps of air, he hadn’t been that winded after he almost drowned. It was embarrassing being hugged so suddenly, and uncomfortable for him since he can’t see it coming.

He left the room quickly with a goodbye, almost running into Marco as he left.

“How’d it go?” Marco asked, after stopping Ace from hitting the ground face first.

“He accepted me and then gave me a hug.” He answered. “Is that a normal thing he does?”

“Not really.” Ace wondered if the other shrugged to that statement.

He was relieved, he didn’t think he could handle that many hugs in a lifetime, he was sure that he was going to get more, but hopefully they would be sporadic and he would have a little more warning.

“So where are you going to get your tattoo, yoi?”

 _Tattoo? Wait does taking Whitebeard’s mark literally mean taking his mark?_  Ace swallowed, he didn’t even know what the Jolly Roger looked like, he hadn’t bothered to learn about it since knowing what it looked like wouldn’t help him if he came across it. Still he thought about where he should get his mark.

“My back?” He tried uncertainly.

“You won’t be able to cover it up then.” Marco replied.

Ace shrugged, his Devil’s Fruit kept his body temperature regulated so he was never cold or hot. “I’ll be fine.”

“What is it going to be of, yoi?”

He pursed his lips acting like he was thinking about it. The safest thing to do would be to get the Jolly Roger it was unmistakable and people wouldn’t question it too much about him getting it. Ace wondered where Marco’s was, but he couldn’t ask incase it was extremely visible, and he assumed as the other was first mate it was. “The Jolly Roger.”

“Oh? A lot of people just get the cross one these days, sticking with tradition?”

“Yeah.” Not that I know what any of you really look like. Ace added mentally.

“I’ll take you to get it done in the morning, yoi.”

Ace blinked. “You do tattoos on the ship?”

The blur that was Marco seemed to move, he’s shaking his head? “Only Pop’s mark. If you want another tattoo you have to wait until we land, yoi.”

That made sense, in a way.

Ace’s eyes were starting to get heavy. “I’m going to go back to my room.”

“Sure.”

He hurried as fast as he could trying to keep himself awake without right running back to his room. Wondering why he was having another sleep attack in the same day, it was rare for it to happen in quick succession like that, and he had only been awake for thirty minutes tops.

Ace barely made it to his bed before he collapsed against it. Tomorrow, whether he would regret it or not he was going to be permanently marked as a Whitebeard Pirate, and he might even have a new family to go along with it. For once he fell asleep excited for tomorrow to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached the bottom, I think this is my shortest chapter yet, though its quiet long any way. *shrug* It felt right to end it where I ended it and I have a nice place to pick it up next chapter, so its a win win. As per usual tell me if there are any major errors!  
> Okay for this chapters chat session it'll be short, but here we go.  
> 1.) I forgot to mention it last chapter, but Haruta is either agender or non-binary, and will be using gender neutral pronouns, and Ace will to for the time being since he can't actually tell so it works out in the end.  
> 2.)As I said at the start, wow thank you for the support this is great!  
> 3.) Guest reviewer thank you for your review, and I'm glad you found something amusing! Would you mind sharing what it is?  
> 4.) Forshadowing! Nightmares! Doubts! Plot!  
> 5.) Ace is a skittish child in this chapter but he does have a reason, and I think I explained it well, and not to give to much away, but he's probably still really freaked out about the almost drowning and the nightmare, so theres why.  
> See you next time! Later! ~IF


	4. Chapter 3: Batons and heads don't mix well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace gets a tattoo and then later goes on a mission with Marco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it took me a little longer, but to be fair I had finals and then I was working on another story update. But also I was working on this one as much as I could and it ended up being the longest chapter to date, because well, the way I was writing it. This chapter was going to be shorter (like 300 words or so big whoop) if I had cut it where I wanted to but, it didn't feel right? So now I ended where I did and, well, I'll let you all read and find out. Remember I'll have my chat session on the bottom where I'll address somethings I thought of or you guys inquired about. With that disclaimer!  
> I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
> 
> See you at the bottom!

The morning sun filtered in through the small window, and it was enough to wake Ace up. He smiled, it had been a long time since light had woke him up.  _Probably since I couldn't see any light yesterday I'm doing it without thinking._ Still he was up now, and had no clue what he should do while he waited for Marco.

Was the first mate coming before or after breakfast? Ace frowned, in his hurry to not get caught having a sleep attack he hadn't figured out any details of this tattoo thing. He also made sure he knew what was going on, aware of how much a risk it was for him to be unprepared.

Still he wanted to walk into breakfast as a marked member of the crew.

A knock sounded on the door. "Its Marco."

Ace arched an eyebrow, surprised that Marco had adapted to his need to know who he was letting in his room so quickly.

"Coming!" He called back swinging his legs over the side of the bed and making a grab for his hat before he decided to forgo it.  _Luffy would probably pout if he knew I wasn't wearing his hat all the time._ Not that he was particularly broken up about it, the hat was probably ridiculous but it was a gift after all.

He opened the door as usual and felt Marco to the side of him.

"Ready, yoi?"

"Yeah." Ace turned toward the sound of the voice.

"Okay." Marco replied. "Let's go."

The younger pirate followed after the first mate, memorizing the route to the infirmary. In his 'escape' yesterday he had forgotten to count steps, he only knew one way there the more he knew the better off he would be. They had to go through a lot of hallways and around a lot of corners before they reached their destination.  _Better for the medical staff if the ship ever gets boarded, far from the main deck._

Ace heard a door being opened and Marco called out a greeting. "Hey Mary."

He followed the other inside and stood off to the side, listening.

"Marco? What are you doing here so early?" That must be the nurse.

"Our newest brother wants to get his mark."

"Ah, wait, you mean that kid that left before we told him to?"

Ace stepped up and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't do it again, and we won't have any problems. You're lucky you were barely hurt." Her voice changed.  _Ah, she's flustered._

"I can do that." He smiled, and straightened up.  _So long as they don't try to check my eyes I'll have no problems playing nice._

Not that he intended on being here much.

"Just let me get Alex. I'll be right back." He heard footsteps walk away.

"Alex?" Ace turned his head in the direction of Marco.

"The one that does the tattoos."

"Ah." Thats what he figured but he wondered if Marco was going to give him any more information.

Ace stood waiting, nervousness pricking at his stomach. He had gotten a tattoo before, Sabo's tribute, and that had meant more to him than this probably ever would; but, he was still worried. When he got his first tattoo he designed it, this time he didn't know what it was going to look like. Also he was surrendering himself to a person with an inked cover needle, not exactly a comfort, especially since he wouldn't be able to see what was going on.

Marco seemed content to remain silent, which Ace was beginning to believe was the normal for the other. Eventually the nurse returned and he guessed the second set of footsteps belonged to Alex.

"Is this the one I'm inking?" Ace was surprised by how rough this woman's voice was.

"This is him." Marco answered.

Were they really talking about him like he wasn't in the room? He cleared his throat, he could speak for himself, he was blind not mute!

"So you're getting your mark?" Alex said, the voice sounded more direct so she had to have changed her position slightly. "I see you have a tattoo so I don't need to explain how its done, and I'll go over care at the end. What are you getting and where?"

Ace blinked, she was direct. "The jolly roger, and on my back."

"Entire back?"

"Sure."  _Might as well go all in._

Alex whistled and the other nurse gasped.

_Odd, no reaction from Marco?_

"Okay, well go over to the bed and I'll go get my equipment."

Ace swallowed,, wondering how he would find a bed without looking stupid, much less the requested bed, he couldn't let his fire lead him they would notice.

"The one straight ahead, lay on your stomach." Alex supplied.

He nearly let out a sigh of relief, thankful there was more than one bed. The place they gave tattoos was in the main infirmary and not a room off to the side like he had originally thought. Without another pause he walked leisurely over to the bed, making his stride long and having the barest wisps of fire leave his body feeling for a barrier. There weren't any more problems in finding the bed.

Ace laid like he was instructed after he shrugged his shirt off. Once he was situated Marco spoke up. "I'll be outside."

Seconds after the statement finished Ace heard the door click shut. He moved on to trying to get his muscles to relax, he remembered from last time that it would hurt worse if he was tensed up. Another door opened and closed, it sounded further away so he assumed that it was a different door. He really needed to map this place.

"Alright, Ace, I'm going to clean your back and then get started."

Ace grunted in response, and then felt a rag of lukewarm water hit his back, he had to stop his fire from flash drying him and burning the nurse. His back was cleaned in a matter of seconds and a dry towel was brought over it.

 _Nice towels, not rough at all._ Ace noticed lamely.

"Want numbing cream? This is a pretty big area."

"That's fine." Truthfully he was grateful for the offer. He remembered how sore his arm had been from a  _little_ tattoo.

Alex began to smear the pungent cream onto his back, and about a minute later he felt the numbness set in.  _Good stuff_.

"Working?"

"Mmhmm." Ace hummed, he knew that she would begin to tattoo him next.

"Okay, I'm stating." And then she stuck the needle in.

It was odd feeling the needle enter but having it not hurt. Ace settled himself down to what would likely be a few hours of this. He attempted to figure out the shape of the tattoo by following the pricks of the needle, but he lost track after the first sixty. What he really wanted to do was sleep until the process was finished, but his survival instincts were telling him that he couldn't. So he went back to counting the needle pricks.

A few hours latter, like he had guessed, he found himself slowly sitting up with the help of the nurse and then having bandages wrapped around him, He moved slowly so he wouldn't agitate his back as the cream was wearing off and his back was stiff due to him remaining stationary for so long.

"How'd it turn out?" He asked.

"Its beautiful, one of my best ones I think."

Ace almost laughed, how fitting he'd get a "beautiful" tattoo and be the only one to  _not_ see it.

"Keep it fry for a few days, and covered. Come back so I can check for infection and if the ink set."

"Got it." He replied. "Anything else?"

"No, just be careful when you're moving around."

He nodded, then he felt her tie the ends of the bandages together.

"There! All done!" Alex was most likely smiling to match the happiness in her voice. "Can you stand?"

Ace did easily, anxious to be out of here, the smell of the infirmary was starting to sting his nose.

"Well looks like you can leave now!"

"Thank you." Ace tilted his head down, not wanting to bend anything else at the moment.

"No trouble at all. Haven't had someone so easy to work on in a long time!" Alex said ."Now go and show Marco!"

Ace let a small smile slip onto his face, he was a little curious about Marco's tattoo. What would be fitting for the first mate of such a famous crew? It was probably really noticeable too, damn. He wondered if it was actually silly to use the Jolly Roger as his own mark.

"Well. I'll be off." Ace waved and headed towards the door, letting his fire find the handle.

Marco stood up when heard the knob twist. Roughly three hours had passed since Ace had entered. Which surprised him, it was about the same amount of time it took to get his done.  _Is he really getting his entire back tattooed? That would be quite the sight._

He took the sight of Ace in. Most of his torso was wrapped in bandages, otherwise he looked the same, the same curious neutral expression that was starting to become a common sight, instead of the angry scowl.  
"Finished?" Marco asked.  
"Yeah." Ace stepped out of the room.  
"Breakfast should be served soon. Want to head down, yoi?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah sure."

Marco nodded in return and started to head in the direction of the mess hall. He knew the other was following him without looking behind by Ace's unique gait, it was a lack of sound but it was still noticeable if you were paying attention, the hesitant long steps was a give away. The older pirate wondered if Ace was in pain.

"Back hurt at all?"

"No, a little tender, it stings, doesn't hurt."

Marco was impressed, he hadn't thought anyone would want to move after getting a tattoo of that size, she knew several of his brother's hadn't moved for awhile. Ace was an interesting person, and there was something always more interesting than the last with him.

The breakfast crowd was picking up and he wanted to know how Ace would handle it, they could hear the noise from down the hall.

He turned his head when he heard the younger pirate suck in air sharply. "Ace?"

"I'm fine, I'm part of the crew." Marco wondered if Ace was reassuring himself or him. "I have to get used to it at some point."

"That's true." Marco wasn't able to finish his sentence of 'but you don't have to push yourself' as Ace brushed past him.

Ace bumped into his shoulder, and Marco knew it was deliberate, there's no it wasn't, Ace was too careful for accidental touching. So instead he crossed his arms and watched, curious about what was going to happen.

The younger pirate was walking at a normal pace, but as usual each step was hesitant as if he was checking for traps. He was tense, and Marco wondered if the kid would flee if he was touched.  _More than likely he would end up fighting, doesn't seem like the type to run._

Ace stopped and Marco moved to catch up to him knowing that his lack of movement is what caused the other to pause. As he thought the teen started walking again. When they reached the door, Ace seemed to hesitate before he finally opened it. Sound rushed out and the fire user stepped back. Marco was watching with curiosity as the chatter died down and the crew turned their gaze onto the newest member, who in turned seemed to shrink.

 _Okay, enough of this._ Marco thought as he squeezed past Ace causing the eyes to flicker to him. "You all act like you've never seen a person before. Get back to your meals."

Slowly the chatter started up again and Ace was soon forgotten by them, at least for the moment. Marco had discovered that it was easier to curb attention in the morning, but Ace would have to get used to being a conversation topic until he wasn't as new on the ship.

"Come on, Thatch saved us seats." He tried to keep his voice friendly and quiet.

He noticed as they walked that Ace was sticking closer to him than he was in the hallway.  _The attention must really bother him._

Marco let Ace take the edge seat and he squeezed in between the fire user and Izou. Thatch and Haruta paused their conversation to glace over Ace's torso.

Izou was the first to speak. "So you're finally a member of our family?"

"Uhh..." Ace paused his spoon which was halfway to his mouth, hesitating on his word choice. "Yeah."

Thatch looked pleased that Ace was finally eating, but Marco shot him a look that seemed to stop him from commenting.

Haruta just picked up their conversation from before. "I can't believe Jozu figured it out! I mean who even dumps their tools out before using them?"

"Wait, what were you trying to do?" Izou asked, Marco didn't miss the suspicious tone.

"To have Jozu glued to his wrench for a little bit."

Ace chuckled at that. Marco blinked in surprise and the teen stopped abruptly, almost like he was shocked he had made the noise.

_He'll get there, slowly but surely._

* * *

**/time skip/+2 months/**

* * *

Marco walked through the ship, he was trying to find Ace. Pops wanted to talk to the both of them at the same time.  _Probably wants us to go on a mission._

It'd be Ace's first mission since joining, and Marco knew he was being sent a long sense the fire user hadn't exactly warmed up to anyone but was at least used to struggle, now, was finding him. The first moment he could Ace had explored everywhere on the ship from hanging out in the kitchens with Thatch to staying up in the crow's nest when Haruta or Izou were on watch, and even Marco himself was sought out (most of the time Ace just kind of hung out near him while he did his duties). The other times, however, Ace vanished and only emerged for dinner.  _Out of all the days, why does he have to have one of_ those  _days today?_

The first mate liked to think he knew the ship well after living on it for so long, but he started to think Ace was talented in finding spots to be alone. Marco frowned, wondering why the teen isolated himself so frequently, his impression of Ace was that once he was used to something he would become a little more responsive (or at least respond in a positive manner.)

He was in the guts of the Moby, it was the last place he could think to look, and he had to duck under several metal beams. There was a mess of them ahead and he was about to turn back, only the shipwrights came down here anyway, when he saw a flicker of fire.  _Found him._ Marco sighed and started to maneuver his way over.  _Really, do we need all of these beams?_

The first thing he saw was the ball of flame dancing suspended in air, and then he saw Ace. He was resting his back on one of the beams, which was tilted enough he could lay on it, and his feet were stopping him from sliding down, the beams made a V type shape. His eyes were closed

 _Talk about isolated._ Marco knew that even the shipwrights rarely came this far into the bottom of the Moby. Still the teen looked peaceful and he felt bad for disturbing him.

"Ace?"

An eye opened and moved in his direction slowly, the fire made the dark eyes darker instead of a smoky dark gray they were coal black. He shook his head clearing it.

"Yeah?" Ace sounded groggy, like he had just woken up.

"Pops wants to talk to us, yoi."

"Why?" Marco could almost hear the guards raise.

"He probably has a mission for us, nothing major." He hoped that his response didn't get Ace to close off completely, he enjoyed the openness the teen gave him.

"A mission?" Ace furrowed his brows. "What kind?"

Marco shrugged. "Who knows, you'll have to ask Pops."

The fire user brightened his flame as he slipped off of the beam, landing gracefully. Ace nodded letting Marco know that he would follow.

"Can you move the light closer? Its hard to see, yoi."

Ace let out a breathy laugh, but let Marco have his own ball of fire to light the way. The first mate was slightly envious of the teen's causal use of fire, his own could only be brought if he was transforming or healing. He wondered how Ace had found this place to begin with, someone had to actively seek it out.

Marco lead Ace to Pop's room, he could tell the teen was still not fond of being in the same vicinity as Whitebeard, but if he was still angry is was no longer as explosive as it had been.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, you said it was just a mission."

That surprised Marco, the teen had actually accepted his words as truth and not some hidden motive.  _Like I said, slowly but surely._

He knocked on the door and Pops called for them to enter.

"Marco, Ace, have a seat." Pops gestured towards the two seats across from his bed.

The first mate moved over to one. and noticed Ace was remaining by the door. He looked over the teen, it didn't look like he was planning to run out of the room so Marco let it go.

Pops turned to look at Ace for a few moments, before speaking. "Ace, you've been a member of this family for nearly two months now, how are you liking it?"

The teen shifted slightly. "Its not what I expected."

Whitebeard laughed at the answer. "That seems to be a common thought among the new recruits."

Marco leaned back in his chair, wondering if the was just a simple meeting, and he was just there to help Ace out.

"Everyone on this ship does something to help out the family."  _Ah, never mind we have a mission._ "and I think it's time for you to go out on your first mission."

"Mission?" Ace shifted again.

"It can be anything from scouting to taking care of a pesky pirate crew." Whitebeard explained. "Yours happens to be checking out a report of troublemakers on one of our territories."

Marco knew what Pops was talking about, and he was about to ask his father if they were going to do something, the reports had been for frequent and desperate as late. It was the perfect mission to have Ace go on, it was a test of strength as well as a show of the Whitebeard Pirate's policies.

"Marco will be going with you to help guide you to the island, but also provide backup if needed."

The phoenix thought he heard a small sound of relief from Ace, he shook his head. "When do we leave, yoi?"

Whitebeard turned his attention on to Marco. "As soon as you can, you're taking skiff number four."

Marco nodded. "And when do you expect us back?"

"I don't think it will take longer than a week,a day traveling there and back and then the rest is taking care of the problem."

He turned to look at Ace, who had once again shifted his weight, looking around the room. "Ace, go pack up, meet me on the main deck we'll head to the skiff together."

"Sure." The teen started to move towards the door. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

Without another word, not even dismissal from Pops Ace was out of the room. Marco bit back a sigh figuring Ace couldn't help it. He really wanted to know what the kid's story was, but just asking him seemed like it would be the wrong thing to do.

He chatted with Pops for a few more minutes before heading to do his own packing.

Ace's mind was whirling. He was smart enough to know that eventually he would have to go out on solo missions, and with his blindness that would be a very dangerous thing. It had been long time since he had sailed on a boat not under the control of someone else. Part of him was relieved that he would have Marco with him, the other part also thought it would be a curse.

He tolerated the first mate(maybe he could even say they were almost friends), preferring his silence over the others need to have a conversation going. So it was better than having to go with Thatch. The downside however was he would have to be on his guard, Marco was observant and he knew that the older pirate suspected there was something off with him. Though he was sure they would be able to handle this mission easily, it was nothing more than beating up some bullies.

With a quick inhale he pushed open his room door, grabbing his trademark hat and a bag with some extra clothes and rations, not that he had much to pack. The next island the entire ship docked at he would pick up some more clothes.

He didn't know where on the main deck he was supposed to meet Marco so he leaned against the mast hoping the other would see him, because there was no way he would be able to find the the other with so many crewmates milling about the top deck.

While he was waiting someone bounded over to him. "Ace! Watcha doin'?"

_Ah, its Haruta._

"Waiting on Marco."

"Why?"

Ace wasn't sure what Haruta looked like, but he guessed they were young, probably only a little older than he was, judging by the energy in the voice. "The captain has us going on a mission. Marco wanted to meet me here."

"Oh. Is it a long mission?"

"Not really."

Haruta quieted down, and then they started to walk away. "Well, have fun!"

Ace didn't think going a mission could be fun, he hadn't even gotten onto the boat and he was already stressed out. He shifted on the mast and waited a couple more minutes when he heard more footsteps start to come towards him.

"Ace!" That was Izou's voice, and a second pair of footsteps joined him.

"You're going on a mission with Marco?" And that was Thatch.

_How fast does news spread around here? Or is Haruta just that big of a gossip?_

"Yeah." Ace shifted so he was facing both blurs that were his fellow crewmates.  _Marco hurry up._

"Must be exciting going on your first mission as a Whitebeard pirate." Izou spoke again.

He shrugged, looking over to the side, hoping he would see the purplish blur that he associated with Marco. Why couldn't he just wait in peace? Its not like he hated the three commanders, but he would rather be left alone, he was wound up enough.

"Well we just came to wish you a good trip." It was Thatch.

"Thank you."

The two walked away but he could feel them a few feet away, probably waiting for Marco. He did feel bad that he hadn't relaxed around them, they were nice enough people, but the chance of them finding out his secrets were higher if he dropped his guard. Maybe someday when he wasn't so new on the ship.

Another ten minutes later and finally the purple blur that was Marco appeared. He heard Thatch and Izou move over to great Marco, and say much the same thing as they did to him. Ace straightened up when he finally sensed the first mate get closer.

"Ready, yoi?"

He nodded.

Marco started towards the lower decks and Ace followed after him, keeping his anxiousness at bay. He wasn't sure how much help he would be with the skiff. He had sailed fine on his own, but when Jared joined his first mate had taken over the steering and the navigating (which he was okay with, since he couldn't do either well). Now he was going to be expected to help with this trip.

They walked for awhile trying to get to the Orlop deck, which had also been built to hold several smaller ships, it was actually pretty clever Ace thought. He hadn't been down there much, not having any excuse to be down there unless he was bringing things up for Thatch, so as usual he let Marco lead the way.

He could smell the scent of sea water getting stronger, and he shrunk back a little remembering his encounters with it prior. Wait, wasn't Marco a Devil's Fruit user.  _Is this safe? Having to people that can't swim on a boat together. Even though Marco probably has years of sailing on me._

"Ace, help me get this skiff ready to leave!" Marco called, he sounded further away.

The teen hurried over, using his fire mildly to guide him to the skiff Marco was at and where to grab it to shift it into the water.

"One, two, three!" It was easy with their combined strength and the skiff splashed harmlessly in the water.

"Where is Jozu? He's supposed to be down here." Marco sighed.

Ace bit his lip, he hadn't left the ship in over two months, so he wasn't sure how this whole using a boat thing worked. But he didn't want to ask incase it was obvious.

"We can't leave until someone is present to close the door." Marco sighed.

_Oh, that makes sense._

"Sorry Marco, had to help Jiru with something." That was Jozu.

"That's fine."

Ace turned towards the direction of Jozu's voice. He wondered how large the man actually was, because his blur was impressive size.

"You guys get in I'll go open the door." Jozu sounded like he was just walking past.

He heard the boat dip and splash with the sound of Marco boarding it, and when he was sure Marco was settled he moved to get one, turning to where he thought Marco was and trying to make a face that said 'may I?'

"You're good, Ace." He climbed in arms splayed out for balance and in case he needed to catch himself if he fell.

Somewhere to the side of him he heard an odd clicking sound like something made out of wood and metal going in a circle. Belatedly he realize it was probably the lever for raising and lowering the door. Beside him Marco was busily moving around the boat getting things ready to move out.

"Untie your side." Marco ordered.

He realize that the older pirate had lost his lazy tone, and changed it something with a bit more authority. Ace wasn't a stranger to it, but he knew that when the first mate used this tone he was assuming his role as first division commander, a man who should be listened to. He turned over to the side deftly feeling for the coarse rope, thankfully it was easy to find and the knot was a quick release knot.

"I'm good."

"Okay. Jozu! We're casting off."

The boat lurched(he guessed Marco kicked it away and towards the gate), and Ace nearly lost his balance. The skiff righted itself and slowly started to drift, he wondered when they would bring out the paddles. A few more seconds and Ace felt the outside breeze indicating that they had exited, and then the clicking sound resumed. There was a splash, which he took as the door was shut.

"We need to change our heading 5 degrees and then we'll be on course." Marco was moving around the ship, and Ace heard something rush through the air at him, on reflex he moved to catch them.  _Oh, oars._

"Right or left?" He asked setting the oars in the slots, at least it didn't sound like their was much navigating, and Marco seemed content to be the temporary navigator, though it might be harder on the way back, the Moby was only a few hours off of the coast, though he wondered why the ship was so far out. He'd ask later after the skiff was adjusted.

"Right."

Ace pulled back on the left oar and felt the boat turn to the left.

"Little more."

This time his pull wasn't as strong, and he felt it turn a little bit more.

"There we are. Keep this heading."

Ace nodded and starting to use both oars. After a few minutes of moving forward a bobbing he decided that Marco was probably more approachable with questions now.

"Why's the Moby so far from the island?"

"The island is in pretty shallow water so we can't dock right off the coast, and further out there's a lot of coral reefs, they can easily damage a ship's keel if not navigated correctly and the Moby just doesn't have the maneuverability."

 _That made sense._ "What about us then?"

"I've been to this island several times before, when we hit the reefs I'll take over."

"Sure." Ace shrugged, trying to keep his rowing as even as possible not wanting to knock them off course the slightest bit.

The sun was beating down on his neck, not that it bothered him, when Marco moved to take the oars. "We're about the hit the reef barrier."

Ace handed them over and moved lightly into the spot on the boat Marco was sitting, his back turned to the first mate, staring out at the blurriness. A couple of times he darted his eyes down to the surface of the water wondering if he could make out the reef. He wouldn't be able to see what it looked like but he had heard that the reefs had beautiful vivid colors, but he assumed part of the wonder was the fantastic shapes they had made and maybe even the fish that made their homes in them. It was a shame he could only make out the blue, which was light and clear.

It was another short while before he heard the sounds of waves breaking on the shore. He had been hesitant to start a conversation with Marco incase the other was concentrating, from his limited experiences that was the fastest way to make the man irritated, mess with him when he was working.

Not prepared to hit the shore so violently, Ace slipped off his seat and onto the floor of the skiff.

"Sorry." Marco replied, but their was some mirth in his tone.

He pushed himself into a sitting position. "Don't worry, I should've prepared myself better."

Marco hummed, and then apparently leapt off the boat since something heavy hit the ground right next to the skiff, it was muffled so it was most likely a sandy beach. Ace stood up, he left the boat with a lot more caution than the first mate not knowing what was exactly on the beach. Near him he heard the older male tying the boat up to something, or that's what Ace assumed he was doing he just heard the creaking of rope.

"C'mon, let's check into the in and see what we can find out about the troublemakers." Marco's voice was calm, but Ace could hear the undercurrent of his command voice. They were back to being commander and subordinate. Ace frowned upon realizing that was a true subordinate, not holding any rank, that didn't sit well with. For some reason it made him feel like he was expendable; a small part of him was telling him that he wasn't but the larger part was telling him he was (the larger part was the kid who grew up being hated for being born to the devil). He shook his head, it didn't do to dwell on things when there was a job to do.

Marco was still moving up the beach and Ace followed after him, jogging slowly trying to not slip on the sand. The island was a summer island. or it was at least in the summer season judging by the heat coming from the sun. The sound of Marco's footsteps changed from the soft  _chk_  to him walking on something more solid.  _Stone, maybe?_ Ace's toe knocked into something solid and he stopped himself from making an audible sound. It was a step he figured out after he lifted his foot up a little.  _Definitely stone._

The other's footsteps were growing fainter and Ace hurried to catch up, moving at an awkward jog walk praying he wouldn't find a pot hole or something of the like.

They walked for what had to have been half an hour before Marco stopped. "Here's the inn."

Ace nodded before thinking that Marco might not be turned around. "Okay."

The first mate started walking again and he was a step behind him. He hated new places. A door banged open and several loud patrons stumbled out of the door.  _A tavern in a inn? Who gets drunk this early anyway?_

The smell of alcohol assaulted his nose as, he counted, three men walked past him. Only one stopped, Ace tensed ready to fight.

"Wh't a cu'ie." The man slurred.

"Keep moving." Marco said, almost sighing.

Ace bit his cheek to keep from reacting, he didn't know who the command was directed to, as he quickly move out of the man's range catching up to Marco.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"Be more aware, yoi. This town has a lot of unsavories, it's a lawless zone after all."

"Sure." At least Marco was too mad, if he was mad at all, his tone didn't give anything away.

The inside of the inn was just as loud as he thought it would be, the clinking and clattering of plates and mugs, boisterous laughter, and a poorly tuned band playing a (very bad) rendition of Bink's Sake. Ace winced at the sheer volume of the place and he knew he'd get overwhelmed if he tried to sense for a number, so instead he stayed honed on Marco.

He hoped the older pirate wouldn't mind him being mear. Ace's nervousness quelled some upon coming close to the somewhat familiar aura of fire and safety (which was odd because all reports said this guy was  _lethal_ ).

Marco cleared his throat causing him to jump thinking he was about to be scolded.

"Old man!"  _So not talking to me, got it._

"Hang on a second!" A new voice yelled breaking through the noise.

Ace heard a swishing of a skirt behind him.

"Hello! Can I help you?" This voice was soft and girlish.

"Do you have two rooms available?"

There was a quick pause and some rustling of paper. "No, we only have one room left, I'm sorry."

Ace turned his head to 'look' at Marco, if the impression he had of the town was right there was probably only one inn. He was about to say he could sleep somewhere else the roof maybe, when Marco spoke first.

"We'll take it."

"That's twenty beli, for another five you can have breakfast made for you in the morning." The girl said, Ace could imagine the expression she wore at the moment was very similar to the nurse that worked under Doctor Conner, a pretty but false smile.

"Yeah sure." The paper and coins were set on the table, or at least the coins were, he heard the clinking of change.

"Here's your key, and we'll wake you in the morning." Metal was slid across wood and Ace guessed it was the aforementioned key. "Top floor, farthest down."

Marco walked away without another word, Ace quickly following suit.

"Are you okay with sharing a room?" He asked when he once more feel in step with Marco.

"I don't mind it, you fine with it?"

"Yeah."  _No. There's a higher chance you'll figure out there's something wrong with me._

"Its cheaper anyway."

That cause Ace to snort.

He assumed that the room wasn't to the older male's liking by the quiet noise of disgust he made after opening the door. Though it didn't stop Marco from walking in and dropping something on the bed. Ace sneezed.  _Its dirty, great._

Slowly he walked in, trying to not walk into any furniture hoping that it was set up like most inn rooms were.

"Only one bed, its to be expected..." Marco trailed off, changing his thoughts abruptly. "I guess we'll worry about that later, there's still daylight and we have a job to do."

Ace shrugged setting his stuff along a wall he found, waiting for Marco to take the lead.

"We'll split up, and ask about the troublemakers, then we'll meet back here in the evening and compare notes."

 _It could've been a worse plan._ Ace shrugged, if he didn't wander too far away or lose could he'd be fine, not overly helpful but he secret would be safe. Who knows maybe he'd get lucky, also they were just asking about the troublemakers and if they were really that big of a problem then most people would at least know about them or heard something.

Marco started moving and Ace went with him. There were some perks to being a subordinate, the not having to take charge was nice, especially since he would probably walk into something.

They headed their separate way when they left the inn. Marco went left and Ace went right. He had never been good about the whole gathering information thing, someone passed by him and he over heard their conversation.

"The whole place was burned down! Complete ashes, thank god there was no one inside!"

"Seriously? Man they were lucky, what did they do?"

"I guess they offended on of the officers, and that was their payback."

Ace spun on his heel catching up to the two conversing men.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but what exactly happened. I'm just passing by." He hoped he looked convincing, and he pulled his shirt a little tighter not wanting the wind to expose his mark.

"Rough time to show up, buddy." The first one said. "We've been having a little trouble with a local bandit gang."

"Yeah, we're hoping the Whitebeard Pirates send someone to help out, they're getting more and more merciless these days. Burned the bakery to the ground because it was too airy or something."

Ace whistled. "Sounds like they're some big bullies."

"I wish they were just that, there's been rumors that they're going to start taxing people."

"But they don't have any authority over the town?" Ace asked, surprised.

"The mayor doesn't care, he's letting them do what they want, to chicken to stand up to him." There was a lot of disdain in the tone.

"Who's the leader of the gang?" He tried to keep his voice conversational.

"You're asking a lot of questions."

"Sorry, sorry, I don't plan on being here long, but I don't want to cause any trouble, I just want to know who to avoid."

"Stay away from the north part of town, and if see a guy carrying a black baton turn the other way, that's Drago 'Black Bar' Roi, he's the leader of the bandits."

Ace filed that information away. "Thank you, sorry for taking up your time."

"No problem, not often we get travelers not interested in causing trouble. Makes it hard for us."

The two men walked away.

Ace was satisfied with the information he got, it was at least helpful, if only in the fact that he had a name and an area. He thought about moving further away, incase the men walked back this way and got suspicious but he didn't want to risk getting lost and unable to find his way back to the in. He let his fire out, trying to find an acceptable place for him to hang out. The teen frowned when he didn't feel anything in his immediate area, so he just leaned against a wall, acting like he was watching the crowd while he was waiting.

Every now and then someone would walk past saying something about the bandits, he could tell it was about them because the tone was usually rushed and quiet. The two men must've been an exception to talk to loud about it. He missed a lot ot the conversation but he there were bit pieces that were somewhat useful .The name of the second in command who, if town's folk were to be believed, could vanish and reappear somewhere across town in seconds.

_Probably has a Devil's Fruit._

By the time the sun was setting Ace was ready to go and talk to Marco, he hoped that the other man had found out more than him, because he had heard the same stories over and over again, with minor variations. These bandits were just taking advantage of people who couldn't defend themselves. It was a disgrace.

As he was making his way back to the inn he remembered that's what bandits  _did._ Dadan and her clan were exceptions, in truth they were probably the nicest bandit clan around. He wondered if Luffy was giving them much trouble.

"You look happy." That was Marco's voice.

Ace's smile fell as he thought about what he should say, he shrugged. "I was just thinking about where I came from."

He wondered if Marco gave him a confused look, but the older pirate probably wouldn't allow such a slip up. "Something happen that reminded you of home?"

He didn't think it would be bad to tell about Dadan, but he felt like it wasn't the right time, they were supposed to be working. "Just the fact of there's a bandit gang causing trouble for the townsfolk."

Marco must've done something along the lines of shrugging, as he didn't reply but instead opened the door. Once more Ace was assaulted by the sound of the place, he wondered if it was crowded or the people were just unnaturally loud. He walked in before the older pirate for once and stood to the side of the entry way, attempting to look like he was searching for a table.

"There's one on the back wall." Marco said in passing and Ace followed after him, relieved he wasn't going to have to lead the way there.

They were quickly situated and one of the servers came by to ask if they wanted anything to drink which they both only asked for water and for it to come out with their meal.

"Find out anything interesting?" Ace broke the silence for once.

"Nothing overly, its a group of bandits that have their base somewhere in the north part of town, and there's probably a Devil's Fruit user."

Ace hummed, feeling better about his small information pool. "I got that impression too. I think the fruit is some sort of teleporting one or speed giving one. Then the leader apparently carries a black baton with him."

Their conversation, if one could call it that, was interrupted by the server coming back and setting the glasses and bowls down on the table before leaving just as fast as they came.

"I'd like to spend another day gathering information, but the town's people don't seem like they know much or they don't talk about it to outsiders." Marco said.

"One of the people I talked to today said the mayor was allied with the bandits, or he just lets them get away with things." Ace replied after swallowing

The older pirate set something down on the table, silverware most likely. "Its probably for the best we head up to the north part of town tomorrow, because you know if the mayor is allied with them then a lot more people are than you would think. Our snooping won't go unnoticed, and I don't want to lose the element of surprise."

"Sounds reasonable."

"We'll head out there in the morning, after we eat."

Ace nodded and went back to eating his bowl of mush, it was most likely a form of gruel but the chef's this place hired didn't seem like they were capable of making even that the tiniest bit palatable. He wanted to leave this inn, it was disgusting and part of him was glad he couldn't see what state it was in.

They finished eating in silence and made their way upstairs, after Marco opened the door Ace remembered the other problem they had, the bed situation.

"It won't be comfortable, but we both can probably fit."

Ace's jaw dropped followed by the very intelligent sound of "Huh?"

"Have you seen the state of this floor? No one is going to get a good rest like that, and if we have to fight tomorrow we might as well be somewhat limber." Marco said in that calm voice of his, and it was reasonable but Ace still didn't like the idea.

The last person he had shared and bed with had been Luffy, and he distinctly remembered waking up to a toe ramming up his nose, somehow. Though he didn't want to sleep on the floor if it was that bad, he could always climb out onto the roof, and sleep under the stars. He sighed, sleeping on the roof was a drastic measure, sleeping with Marco wasn't exactly on his list of things to do, but if there were people that knew that they weren't just travelers the roof would be more dangerous. Ace chewed on his bottom lip.

"While you're deciding, I'm going to go change." With that there was a breif sound of rustling and another door clicking shut.

He was Marco's crewmate, and the man wouldn't do anything to him, and it wasn't like he was some kid who couldn't take care of himself (he doubted the older pirate was like that). It would be a lot safer than sleeping on the roof or the floor. It was a one time thing too. Ace  _really_ didn't want to do this, he barely knew the man, what if his snoring kept the first mate awake, then what?

However, he found himself shuffling over in the direction he had though he had heard Marco dig through his bad. About seven steps later his shin was hitting a metal bedframe. He sat down on it, the covers felt scratchy and the bed was lumpy, he was also fairly certain that it was moth-eaten.  _Great._

The door clicked open and footsteps followed it. Marco said nothing, but apparently walked over to the bed and picked his bag up, setting it lightly on the floor.

"You want to be next to the wall?"

Ace thought about being pushed against the wall wasn't exactly appealing but he was a deep sleeper so sleeping nearer to the door could be dangerous. He let out another sigh.

"I'll sleep by the wall."

"Alright then." Marco dug around for something in his bag before he let out a sound.

Quickly he undid his boots and set them by the bed. Ace maneuvered himself so that he was already laying flush against the wall, it was cool against his back. It could've been a problem if he didn't have his Devil's Fruit. He closed his eyes, unable to find sleep right away. He focused on Marco, who hadn't come to the bed yet. He was on the other side of the room, and after listening for a few seconds Ace heard the sound of a page being turned.  _He's reading?_ It made sense, they didn't have anything else to do without the chance of losing their element of surprise, he huffed silently annoyed that he couldn't do much else but sleep.

He listened to the occasional page turn as Marco read, curious about what he was reading. It was still relaxing somehow, the silence which had never been awkward between them was quelling the anxiousness he felt about sleeping near Marco. What if his eyes gave some sign that he was blind, but it only relieved itself on closer inspection? He shook his head, Jared had told him his eyes looked as normal as everyone else's.

Ace tightened himself into a ball, willing himself to sleep where his thoughts wouldn't bother him to much, most of the time he slept dreamless with the occasional nightmare slipping through but that happened to everyone. He fell asleep.

Briefly he was awoken sometime later by the bed dipping with the weight of someone, and he was almost full conscious by the time they settled next to him, battle instincts priming him to spring upwards. Then he remembered that it was most likely Marco, and the aura of fire he got from the person confirmed that thought. He drifted back to sleep, stretching out the tiniest bit.

* * *

Marco groaned when he was awoken by something banging on the door, he was worried for a second that they were under attack when the innkeeper from last night spoke up.

"Breakfast is about to be served, so if you want it you better get a move on!"

Her footsteps faded as she walked down the hallway. He moved his arms above his head, stretching out the kinks he got from sleeping on such a poor quality mattress, he would've preferred a hammock than sleeping in this beat up bed. Beside him his bed mate adjusted his head from where it was pillowed on his arm.

Marco winced knowing that Ace was going to wake up with a numb arm, he hadn't moved from that position all night. He was actually surprised that he had gotten so near to the younger when he was sleeping he was expecting something more than the other waking up.

After a few more seconds of getting his bearings he stood up from the bed, once again stretching his arms above his head, feeling parts of his spin pop. He yawned and grabbed the clothes he had folded up and laid on the desk deciding he could change before he woke Ace.

A few minutes later he came out a little more awake than he had been and dressed in his usual attire. He shifted his gaze to Ace, who was still sleeping comfortably, having moved over into the spot Marco had recently vacated, some drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. The young teen looked peaceful, to bad it was time to get up.

"Ace! Time for breakfast, yoi."

The young pirate shot up from a dead sleep, looking around the room, before he glanced in Marco's direction.

"Is it morning already?"

"Sleep well?" Marco ignored the question.

"As well as can be, my arm is numb and the mattress was lumpy."

Marco chuckled. "Yes, well let's go down and eat before they run out."

Ace moved to the edge of the bed, grabbing his boots, missing the first one but finding it a second later. Marco arched an eyebrow before deciding that it was probably just residual sleep messing with the teen. Not even a minute later Ace had his boots on and was standing, waiting for Marco to take the lead. Which he did, striding over to the door in a slow pace, not feeling the need to rush since they were both up and moving.

Breakfast was a lot quieter than the lunch and dinner times, part of it was due to the lack of people but he guessed that more than a few of the other patrons had hangovers. The meal they were served look very similar to the meal they had been given at dinner, and after a bite Marco decided that it tasted the same. He grimaced but made to eat as much of it as he could. Ace was shoveling away at his pausing only to yawn and take a drink of a strangely colored fruit juice. He was amazed that Ace had no problems eating something that looked like wet sand mixed with gravel but he was still hesitant about eating even Thatch's cooking.  _Maybe it's the source?_

After they finished, Marco nodded his head to the innkeeper and headed out of the room, Ace sticking to him like a shadow.  _Must be because of the crowds again._

The morning sun was barely past the horizon, and he shielded his eyes to block some of the light, inhaling the slightly salty breeze (it wasn't as good as being surrounded by it on the sea but it'll have to do.)

"Ready, Ace?" He turned to the younger.

He asked the other in mid yawn, so when he turned around all he saw was Ace opening his mouth widely with tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, it was endearing in a childish kind of way.

Ace rubbed his eyes before answering. "Yeah, let's do this."

There was hardly anyone moving around town, there were a few early risers, but mostly the town was filled with the smell of baking bread. It would've been peaceful, if he hadn't known that he was most likely walking into what was going to be a fight. Which he hoped wasn't going to be too annoying, Marco didn't doubt his or Ace's strength (not that he knew much about it but he did go toe to toe with a warlord) but he didn't feel like dealing with a drawn out fight at the moment. The younger pirate seemed to be in a better mood than he had been while on the Moby, so he was wondering if he couldn't use that to maybe get Ace to be a little more open to him.

The north side of town, when they finally reached it was dilapidated putting it nicely. Most of the buildings had holes in them or cracks along the foundation, several of them were rubble piles. Only one building still had all of it walls intact, part of the ceiling was starting to cave, Marco was impressed by it. He figured that would be the best place to start looking for the bandits.

"Ace, this way." He said quietly incase they were being watched, there was little doubt that they were but Marco's observation haki couldn't reach far enough to tell where they were.

Ace didn't verbally reply, but the footsteps shuffling in the direction he was going told him the younger pirate had heard and was complying. He inched closer to the building, his phoenix bubbling under the surface, itching to be let out and partake in a blood bath. He laughed, it was surprising how vicious the bird of rebirth and life actually was.

They were about ten feet from the door when it was thrown open with an impressive sounding bang. The door didn't swing back in place, and Marco was surprised to find that part of the bricks had crumbled wedging the door in place.

"Well, well, well." A man came out twirling a baton in his hand. "It seems we have a couple of sea rats coming to knock on our door."

The first mate refrained from rolling his had been called a lot worse in his pirating career.

"I wonder what brings them here?"

Marco pulled himself up to his full height, puffing out his chest (sometimes he followed the bird's instincts). "We're here on the behalf of the Whitebeard Pirates-"

"Anyone can identify you Marco, and you're on one of Whitebeard's islands don't think you can stay hidden."

He was impressed by the man's audacity to cut him off  _and_ refer to him like they were on friendly terms.

"Well I want you to know that we're taking this island from the old man, and proving out strength by killing his first mate! Get them!"

Marco was almost taken by surprise when two men jumped out from a rubble pile behind him, but Ace reacted quicker.

"Fire fist!"

The first man was knocked backwards by a ball of vividly colored fire, and the second one suffered a heel to the jaw, he could hear the crunch of the bone from where he was standing a few feet away.

_Ow._

"Is that the best you got?" Ace smirked.

_Figures he would be a taunter._

The man, who was the leader if memory served, raised his hand into the air and made a fist. Marco had sharpened his haki a second before and was ready to block the three attacks that came at him. Without needing to transform, he took them out. Behind him he could hear the whoosh of fire and yelling which meant Ace wasn't have any trouble either. The leader's face curled into a snarl as he made another gesture and several more life forces fell into his Haki radius.

He blocked a large fist that came from in front of him, but the man was larger than him causing him to slide back next to Ace, barely ducking under a blast of fire. Just because he could heal didn't mean he wanted to feel it, and while he was immune to most fire he wasn't sure about a fire user's.

With a sigh, he let his arms transform into wings and used them to propel him upwards. He let the momentum carrying him into a backflip, causing his opponent's jaw to be met with his foot. As Marco righted himself, the man flew backwards busting the door as he crashed into it. He turned his arms back into their human form, and landed lightly. Ace had moved several feet away from him, and it seemed that the bandits had decided to focus on the unknown pirates.  _They Probably think it's safer._

He watched as Ace fended of three attacks at once, easily flowing from one attack into another, and occasionally blasting a new challenger with fire, it was beautiful to watch. Marco turned his attention back onto the leader of the bandits, whose face was slowly morphing into a deeper scowl.

"Brat ain't bad."

Marco nodded. "Care to surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment?"

The bandit leader, Drago the name finally came to Marco, snarled. "We'll still win this."

His statement was punctuated by a bandit flying in between them, yelling. Marco could've laughed at the scene, but he kept his composure.

"Very well." Marco leapt up and turned his arms into wings once more joining Ace in his fight.

Truthfully Ace could've won by himself, but Marco didn't like it when he didn't fight with his subordinates. He landed next to the younger pirate, but far enough away he couldn't get struck as an enemy in the heat of battle. When his feet touched the ground his was immediately assaulted with a bandit rushing him with a sword, Marco stood steady, and when they got close enough he brought his leg up into a sideways kick crushing the bandit's nose.

The battle only lasted a few minutes, the last bandit crumpling to the ground in a crispy heap. Both pirates turned their attention to Drago who was no longer alone and had another male standing next to him with his face covered.  _That must be the guy with the rumored Devil's Fruit._

Marco moved so that he was once again standing in front of the pair, Ace standing a little behind him.

"Your men are defeated. Are you going to drag this out any longer?"

His reply was Drago flipping his baton, which wasn't like any baton Marco had ever seen, and handing it to the masked man. He arched an eyebrow, wondering how this was going to turn out. In a split second the mask wearer was gone from beside Drago. Marco lost track of his presence and felt it return a less than a second later, behind him, he turned around only to see the baton being swung at Ace who was mid turn. The baton struck him across the head, with enough force that the baton cracked and Ace slumped to the ground.

 _He's a logia type, he should be able to dodge that on reflex, unless... that explains the handle and gloves. Its sea stone infused._ Marco was frozen in place for a few seconds as he watched the younger pirate's body settle on the ground and the masked man standing beside it looking at the baton like he was impressed.

The first mate liked to think he was a reasonable man, and he was, until one of his family members got hurt. He shifted fully into his phoenix form and launched right at the mask wearing bastard, talons outstretched and sinking into the man. The scene was not unlike a bird catching a fish. Marco flapped upwards, his powerful wings easily carrying him above the ruined buildings. He dropped the masked man, and then dived after him, delivering a strong peck right through his sternum.

Once he was sure that the man wasn't going to move again he turned his attention onto the leader of the bandits who was significantly paler than he had been fifteen seconds ago. Without missing a beat Marco pulled out of his dive and aimed himself directly at him. Pulling back so that he was going in talon's first, Marco smirked as best as a bird could. His talons easily wrapped around the man's neck, digging into the soft flesh and veins there and snapping the neck with the force he put behind it.

The first mate released the bandit leader and watched as he skidded across the ground. Marco morphed back into form, huffing once at the still form before hurrying over to where Ace had yet to move. He kicked the masked man aside, he dropped him a little too close to the younger pirate, and kneeled in the recently vacated spot. Quickly he ran his eyes over Ace's form, there wasn't anything major, but he was still aside from his rapid breathing. That's when Marco turned his attention to Ace's head.

When he had fallen, luckily he had landed with his injured side face up. Already he could see the red forming where he had been struck. The first mate was certain that it was going to turn into a rather impressive bruise, but he was more worried about the condition Ace would be in when he woke up.

Marco had very little medical training, but he knew enough that moving Ace could be bad if there was an injury not visible. He looked around, not wanting to leave the younger pirate alone, but not wanting to risk anything more. That's when he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Oi, you."

The bandit looked up frightened. "Me?"

"You're the only one that's moving." Marco bit back. "Go and get a doctor will you."

The bandit scurried up and bolted off, the first mate knew that the man was going to come back with a doctor, too afraid of what disobeying would do. He situated himself so that he was sitting on his rear next to Ace, alert for any threats.

At one point Ace woke up, his eyes unfocused before he closed them and fell back asleep, his muscles letting some of their tension go. Marco wasn't sure if he should be relieved that the other had woken up or worried that he had fallen back asleep.

Sometime after that, the bandit showed back up panting with the sleeve of a doctor pinched in his fingers. The doctor looked annoyed before his gaze landed on Marco, recognition causing the annoyance to vanish completely.

"What happened?"

"He was struck in the head by a baton." Marco moved out of the doctor's way.

The doctor too the spot he had just vacated. "Have you moved him at all."

"No, he did regain consciousness briefly but passed out almost right after."

The old man opened his medical bag and pulled out a strange looking tool, pulling back one of Ace's eyelids, staring at it for a few seconds."

"Hmm."

Marco tensed when he heard the doctor's hum, ready for something bad.

"I'll look at that closer later." The doctor seemed to be mumbling to himself.

Then he did a few more things Marco didn't fully understand before turning he spoke. "He's alright to move, but I would like it if you can carrying him to my clinic, I want to do a more thorough examination."

The first mate easily lifted Ace up, trying not to jar him too much before following after the doctor, he was stopped by the bandit.

"What about me?"

"If you leave my sight in the next three seconds, nothing."

The bandit bolted and Marco spent a few seconds reveling in the fact that just his words can reduce a man to a coward. It was nice to be the first mate of a powerful crew sometimes. He caught up too the doctor, wondering why he was so keen on examining Ace further.

"What's wrong with Ace?" He finally asked.

"It could be nothing, could be extremely important. I don't want to make the assumption and tell you without examining it further."

It made sense, but Marco was still worried with  _what_ the doctor could be thinking it was. If something happened to Ace it was his responsibility, he was the one that was trying to get the kid adjusted to being a Whitebeard after all.

The clinic was clean and orderly compared to the inn. He was lead to a room down a side hallway with a bed. He laid Ace down as gently as he could, while the doctor went to get something.

Moving back he leaned against a wall, his eyes taking everything in, ready to move if this was some clever ploy (which he doubted, but it never hurt to be cautious). Minutes later he moved so that he was leaning on the back wall while the doctor worked, shining various different instruments into Ace's eyes. With the occasional hum.

After what was probably an hour, Marco wasn't surprised the blow had been a hard one, Ace was still unconscious and the doctor was putting his tools away.

"Well it looks like his eyes aren't damaged from the blow like I had thought, and I don't think they've gotten worse, though it's hard to tell." The doctor mumbled.

Marco straightened, confused. "Is there something wrong with his eyes, yoi?"

The doctor looked surprised. "Well, it could be what I'm seeing is wrong due to the trauma."

Marco tightened his grip on his sleeve, letting the old man talk, he hated when people weren't direct when they spoke. "Meaning?"

"It looks like there's severe degeneration to the back of the eye."

"Looks like?" Marco's voice was tight.

"The damage from the blow could be interfering in some way so, I'm unable to be completely certain." The doctor held up his hands in a surrendering manner.

Maroc inhaled, calming himself down, he was still high on adrenaline from the battle. "What are you saying, if there is this degeneration?"

"Well, degeneration of the eye generally means that the person has a lack of sight."

It hit him then, the old doctor was talking about Ace being  _blind_ of all things. It wasn't possible. "I think you're right, the injury is interfering."

The doctor looked doubtful. "That would be quite the interference. The deterioration of the back of the eye is severe."

Marco eyed the doctor, he was old, but not inexperienced so he likely knew what he was talking about. But still, if Ace was blind wouldn't that be one of the first things a person tells someone, especially your new crew and family. There was no sighs that he couldn't see, a lack of a cane, stumbling over things. Ace was cautious yes, but he didn't seem like he was uncertain. It was a lot to think about. But if it was as severe as the doctor said, what did that mean.  _Ace doesn't have complete faith in us, but keeping something like that hidden, without slipping up? Impossible._ Besides, how can the back of the eye get that bad?  
"What would cause this degeneration?"

"Most likely it's a condition that he's had since birth. There are a few diseases you can contract that would cause this but they have other symptoms while the patient is losing their sight."

Marco frowned. It was hard to believe but the doctor had no reason for this elaborate of a lie.  _I'll just ask Ace when he wakes up. That'll settle this, one way or another._

The doctor took his silence as a dismissal and bowed as he left the room. Marco moved so that he was sitting next to Ace's bedside, hunched over and fingers steepled as he thought about what the doctor said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if there are any blinding errors or missing page breaks, mine got lost in translation and I'm only human with the errors.
> 
> Chat session! Well, is that how you all expected that to go, yay or nay? I'm excited to see what you all think about it, so its a mild cliffhanger, which is how I like to write (I'm sure you'll experience this more than once in this fic)
> 
> 1.) Marco said the non-covering of the tattoo as a joke, but Ace didn't perceive it as such, and I assume when someone, probably Izou, questioned his lack of shirt he explained the situation and Izou probably told him Marco was trying to make a joke, but otherwise I personally believe that most of the Whitebeard pirates don't cover their mark as a sign of pride, they have it on their hand, wrist, forearm, shoulder places like that. So I hope that answers your question, and I'm sure the commanders all have large tattoos similar to Ace's but they have to look somewhat distinguishable to maintain their respect as Commanders (not that they would lose it but...)
> 
> 2.) I assume that the Thousand Sunny isn't the first ship to have a smaller ship stored inside of it, and I would think that the Whitebeard pirates would have a need for many smaller skiffs, just for convenience sake, because let's face it, the Moby Dick is freaking huge! And it would probably be easier to make several small trips onto an island for minor resupply trips than to dock that thing. Just my personal belief you don't have to agree, so hey
> 
> 3.) So I have most of this story planned out, and now I need to write it, I have a little left to figure out and some minor details. And I am incredibly excited to write it, because well, you'll see.
> 
> Shutting up now! See you next time!


	5. Chapter 4: Recovery and Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco and Ace talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this too late? Ah well, I got busy and went on a weekend trip and there were some parts I had trouble figuring out how to write as well with getting the point across and trying to keep their characterizations. I think it turned out alright. Also, fair warning, the first part of this is going to be a little page break happy, but it was needed to kind of get the scene I wanted. So I'll let you get onto the story now! 
> 
> I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
> 
> See you at the bottom!

Ace woke up slowly, his head pounding and slightly nauseous. He closed his eyes tighter before opening them, the light causing him to shut them quickly. A few seconds past and he opened them again, slower this time. His eyes adjusted, not that it mattered much, and the pain in his head grew harsher. Instinctively he knew that if he were to move he'd lose the contents of his stomach.

He frowned, trying to think of what happened, but all of his memories were blurred together and he couldn't tell the start of one for another. Once more he closed his eyes to try and ward of some of the pain in his skull.

"Ace? Are you awake?" The voice next to him was quiet, but it was still making his head throb.

He hoped that shifting would alert the man to the answer of his question.

"Ace?"

With a sigh, he forced his vocal chords to move his throat being scratchy. "Yea."

"How do you feel?"

"M' head hur's" He slurred.

"I'll see what I can do about that in a second." The voice replied, dimily Ace realized he recognized it but he wasn't sure from where, it hurt to think too much. "But first you have to answer a question for me."

He would've whined if not for a particularly sharp pain on the side of his head, really what the hell did he do? Instead he mumbled something along the lines of 'go ahead.'

"If you were to open your eyes, could you see me?"

That was a strange question, he's blind of course he couldn't see someone. "No."

"So you can't see at all, even before your head injury?" The voice sounded weird now.

"N't rea'y" His head was really starting to hurt now.

"I'm going to go get something for your head now."

Ace made no reply, instead he tried to will the pain away.

* * *

 

Marco left the room in a rush, only half trying to find the doctor. He felt bad for using Ace's vulnerable state, it was a break of trust he knew and it was going to be hard to get Ace's forgiveness if the other decided to hold a grudge.  _There has to be a reason he kept it a secret._

He just couldn't find one. It made perfect sense that Ace wouldn't tell them when he first woke up they were still "enemies", but Ace had taken up pops mark and with that they became family. Marco wanted to feel offended that the young teen didn't completely trust them, he knew the teen was cautious but not trusting the people you agreed to sail with was a deathwish.

Well, he supposed sailing while blind was a death wish in itself.

He still couldn't imagine the teen being blind. Ace had adapted well to be in a new situation, moving like he knew where he was going, even in the early days of him being on the Moby. There hadn't been any times when Ace walked into a wall or tripped over something obvious. Ace acted like he knew where everything was, fought like he knew where everyone was.

Marco paused, how had the teen fought so well? Even going as far as to stop a surprise attack that  _he_ hadn't felt until they were too late.  _Observation haki? But that level of skill it would take years to master it._

He found the doctor bent over a notebook scribbling away at something.

"Excuse me." He called out.

"Oh!" The old man jumped a little.

"He's awake and in pain, yoi."

The doctor hurried to stand up and gather various materials. Marco watched half paying attention, wondering if he could get away with being away while Ace was drugged on pain medication. He shook his head, it might be a bad idea, and he didn't like the thought of leaving the teen alone in the hands of a stranger. He moved aside as the doctor hurried past him and towards Ace's room, and followed after.

He returned to his perch against the wall, watching as Ace was slowly moved into a sitting position, which caused him to vomit at the movement, Marco wrinkled his nose. Eventually he was able to drink down the water with the powdered form of the medicine and returned to a prone position.

"I'll be right back to clean up this mess." The doctor left.

Marco barely noticed when the doctor returned with a mop and started to clean, his eyes trained on Ace. The teen's face was scrunched up in discomfort. The older pirate shifted slightly on the wall.

The doctor finished cleaning and moved to exit the room. "Call me in here if anything else happens."

Marco raised his hand in acknowledgement. After a few seconds of being alone in the room he walked over to Ace's bedside. He hesitated before he raised his hand to try and smooth out the lines of tension in the teen's face(making a point to avoid the darkening bruise), it worked to some extent, and Ace actually leaned into his palm. Quickly Marco pulled his hand back, not sure how else to react.

He ran his eyes over him, taking in the planes of muscles. It was amazing that Ace was so strong when he didn't have something like sight. It was impressive enough to fight a warlord to a stand still, but while blind? He was sure that such a feat would've been impossible.

Marco moved back to the spot on the wall, not having anything else to do while he waited for Ace to wake up and hopefully be able hold some semblance of a conversation. It would take him a while to get used to the fact that Ace couldn't see, but more importantly it bothered him that he didn't notice anything more than 'he's hiding something'.

He blew air out of his nose, he'd just wait patiently.

* * *

 

The next time Ace woke up his head was significantly less muddled and he could actually move it without thinking that it was going to split open. There was a sour taste in his mouth that made his stomach tighten to the point of discomfort. He remembered, vaguely, that he had thrown up last time he was awake. Frowning he tried to remember what else happened, he was sure that he had spoken to someone... Marco? There had been an important question, but Ace couldn't recall it.

He opened his eyes and, not that it mattered, scanned them across what he assumed was the room. Aparently he was alone.  _Strange._

With a mental shrug, he decided moving was probably bad with how his stomach was clenching. Something was bothering him, he couldn't remember why he had a dull pain on the side of his head nor could he remember what he had told Marco, he was sure that it was important. A few more minutes, and the pain in his head was slowly starting to get worse he recalled what he had told Marco.

Forgetting his idea to stay still he bolted straight up, before he leaned to the side and vomited it was only bile. His arms were shaking as he struggled to keep himself upright and his breath was slowly picking up pace

_Oh shit. I can't believe I told him! Shit! Shit! Shit! I can't even keep a secret. Marco knows, he knows. Is that why he's not in here? He probably left because I'm a burden. God dammit why am I such a screw up!_

He barely heard the door open. "Oh Ace your aw- Ace?"

Ace stopped, he wasn't sure he was breathing. That sounded like Marco, but the older pirate probably left him on this shitty island.

"Ace!" The sound of rapid footsteps neared.

He recoiled from the touch.

"Sorry."

_That's definitely Marco, he's going to kick me off the crew!_

"What's wrong?"

 _He's - Wait what?_ Ace turned his head towards the sound of Marco's voice, blinking.

"I -" He swallowed. "You know."

"That you're blind?"

He winced, it was weird hearing it said out loud like that. "Yeah."

They both fell silent, Ace waiting for the decisive words that would remove him from the crew. Hell he had only been a part of it for only two months, why was he dreading this so much. The silence was oppressive and Ace was sure the suspense was going to drive him to another panic attack when Marco spoke again, his voice soft.

"Tell me about it."

 _Huh?_ Ace was blinking in shock before repeating his mental statement. "Huh?"

"Tell me what you can about your blindness."

Ace opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to decide how to respond to Marco, because this outcome had never occurred to him. _No time to worry about what he'll do to me, I have to still make this somehow favorable to me, and maybe even if he does kick off the crew I won't have to worry about_ everyone  _finding out._

* * *

 

"I'll answer all of your questions on one condition." Ace said.

Marco blinked, not expecting the teen to be so compliant, he was still worried about what he had walked in on and made a mental note to get a mop. "What is it, yoi?"

"You can't tell anyone, and I mean anyone that I'm blind." Some of the fire that was usually in Ace's voice was back.

He thought about it, he'd have to keep it a secret from the crew, but he didn't think it was likely that he would need to out Ace. Besides he had a feeling that when the time was right and Ace was more trusting of them they would learn about his blindness, maybe he old crew knew?  _So long as it doesn't affect the crew -_

He finished the last part verbally, "I won't tell a soul."

Ace let out a shaky breath and turned to gaze at him fully. Marco thought it was a little weird that Ace was looking at him but not seeing him.  _How does he do that?_ It was a question for another time.

"Okay I'm going to start asking you questions now." Marco said. "What caused you to go blind?"

"Its a condition, a disease that slowly steals sight." Ace replied.

"A disease? Did you catch something?"

"No, I was born with it, but I didn't notice it until I was about twelve."

Marco tilted his head, he had never heard of something like that. "What happens with it?"

"It takes your sight away slowly, at first your vision is blurry, and then you lose your color perception even going as far as losing your ability to see light."

He wasn't easily scared, but that sounded terrifying slowly seeing less and less of the world until eventually there's nothing.

"If its a disease then can it be cured?"

Ace made an odd sound. "The doctor that found this out said that there wasn't, but I thought maybe that the grandline would have something to at least slow it down. There's nothing."

His heart clenched at Ace's voice, he didn't sound like a cocky teenage any more, but a lost kid. It must be taking a lot out of him to talk about this.

"So what can you see?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"I can see very vague outlines when it's extremely close, otherwise its just blurred color."

Marco could imagine anyone managing simple tasks like that, much less acts of piracy. "How do you fight?"

"I sense my opponents, it's hard to explain."

"You use observation haki?" Marco asked, haki was common in the new world so he wasn't sure why Ace wasn't using its name.

"Observation haki?"

 _He's been using it without evening knowing what it is?_ Marco was incredulous, if Ace had some proper training in it he could easily be one of the better users of it on the ship, probably already is. "Its a fighting style, I'll tell you more about it later."

"Alright." Ace's voice sounded strange, like he was holding back emotion, but he didn't look distressed so Marco figured he was hearing things.

"You're able to move around well, for someone not able to see." He tried to lead Ace into a conversation.

"I count my steps to find my way around, or I use my fire to make a map of them room."

 _He has that much control over his fruit?_ The more Ace spoke the more he was amazed by the kid, he doubted anyone else on the crew would believe him if he told anyway (Pops probably would he's seen a lot), using haki at such a high level and using his Devil's Fruit to do something non-destructive while being blind, it sound completely outrageous. Marco was sure if the doctor didn't tell him that there was something potentially wrong with Ace's eyes he would've thought that it was an elaborate lie.

He fell silent for a few moments, and he guessed Ace took that the wrong way, because the teen was moving to lie back down on his side, slowly and facing away from Marco. Quietly, so quiet he almost missed it, the younger pirate spoke.  
"You're going to kick me off the crew now right?"

Marco resisted the urge to run a palm over his face,  _that's_ what the panic attack was about earlier? He suspected there was something more to it but Ace was hard to read and he didn't have any proof.

"I'm not going to kick you off the crew, you've done nothing wrong." He didn't mention the fact that it was only the captain that could say a person is permanently gone from the crew.

"But I'm  _blind."_ The way he said that last word was like it was some sort of forbidden curse word.

"That doesn't change the fact you're a Whitebeard Pirate now."

Ace tensed up, but Marco continued talking. "Pops considers you a son, he wouldn't disown you for something like this."

Ace stilled, he was tense, and Marco waited for him to come to his own conclusion about things ready to help convince him that he was going to be able to stay.

"I-" Ace started then he stopped.

The first mate arched an eyebrow, waiting to see what Ace would say. A few minutes went by and there was still no reply. Then he heard a snore.

 _He fell asleep in the middle of a sentence?_ Marco was once again impressed, he shrugged and moved to get a mop. Ace's sleepiness was probably due to the medication.

* * *

 

When Ace awoke for the third time, there was a pain in his head but his stomach had settled quite a lot compared to the upheaval it was earlier. Not that he trusted it enough to move more than a few inches at a time at a very slow and non jerky movement. He assumed whatever pain medication he was given was starting to wear off. Staying still he let the rest of his body catch up before he seeing if he was alone or not.

Truthfully he hadn't expected Marco to react the way he did, he had been so calm about it, maybe confused, but there hadn't been any anger or disappointment. He had thought that the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't let any sign of weakness onto their ship, they were one of the emperors of the sea a place where weakness doesn't belong.

But he'd take his blessing as they came to him since he had so few in his life. Ace finally trusted himself to sense for another person, using what the first mate had called haki. He was surprised to feel that there was someone else, but he was quick to determine that it was Marco.

He blinked open his eyes hoping that the other would notice, his throat felt sticky from the lack of moisture and he didn't think he'd be able to talk well.  
"You're up, yoi?"

Ace nodded his head slowly. "Water."

"One second." He heard the shifting of fabric and then footsteps coming towards him. "Can you sit up?"

He adjusted his arms so he could lean against them and slowly push upwards trying as best he could to ignore the churning in his gut. About halfway up Marco steadied him.

"Here."

Ace raised his hand it was slightly shaky from either the medication or the injury. He called his fire to his fingers feeling for the glass, which was pushed into his hand which he gripped. As he brought the drink to his lips slowly, he realized that it was slightly relieving to not have to keep up his act. His skills were rusty after not having to use them in the year since he got his crew.

_I screw everything else up, I'm surprised I lasted this long._

"Ace?"

He blinked at Marco's sudden interruption to his thoughts, then he realized he had been just holding the glass and not drinking from it. As quick as he dared he brought the glass up and drank from it, a small slow sip so that it wouldn't agitate his stomach.

Once finished, after take several more sips in the same manner, his throat was feeling better, like he could talk without his voice straining.

"Thanks."

"No problem, yoi. You hungry yet?"

At the mention of food his stomach growled then gave an alarming twist.  
Something small maybe?" He suggested, which was something he thought he would never say he's never eaten a small meal in his life if he had the opportunity and even then most of the time was either eat or starve.

"Alright. I'll see what I can find, yoi."

Marco was moving again, his shoes clicking on the floor, "I'm going to call the doctor as well, you've fallen asleep before he could look you over completely."

"Sure." Ace shrugged, knowing he mostly wouldn't have a choice.

The door opened and shut leaving Ace alone. Which, for some unknown reason, caused his head to start throbbing. He moved to grip at his head, the point where the throbbing was the worse, only to wince when his fingers brushed a spot along his temple.  _What happened?_ Try as he might he couldn't recall what happened after he and Marco left the inn.

He must've spaced out for longer than he thought because he was surprised when an old, but not unkind, voice spoke.

"How's your head?"

 _I missed him entering, that could've been bad for me._ "Hurts."

"I would figure as much, looks like it was quite an impressive strike."

"Strike?"

"Yes, from Drago's baton."

Ace stopped himself from frowning he would ask Marco about it later.

"How do you feel otherwise?" The doctor asked filling in the silence.

"Sort of nauseous, but nothing else, maybe a little unsteady."

He heard a pen scratching on paper. "Nothing to worry about. Sounds like a typical head injury."

Ace tensed up slightly, getting the feeling from the old doctor's' voice that he wasn't going to like the next part.

"But I do have concern for your eyes."

 _Knew it._ He swallowed. "My eyes?"

"It looked like the back of your eyes were deteriorating."

He let himself relax the tiniest amount. Maybe this doctor knew something more than what Doctor Conner had told him. So for the first time in years, he was going to let someone look at his eyes. "Okay."

The doctor had apparently been prepared for an affirmative answer as there was a sudden click of something (most likely a medical case snap) and something was being set on a metal table.

"First I'm going to shine a light in your eyes."

Ace nodded, wondering if he should adjust himself to better accommodate the doctor. He assumed it wouldn't be much different from the first examination. A light met his eye, and he blinked rapidly for several seconds after to try and ease some of the sting. Once his eye was fully adjusted the light started shifting angles and heard the doctor make several hums. He could only guess the meaning of the noises, it was weird to be examined so thoroughly.

"I've never seen anything like this." The doctor finally said as he switched eyes.

Ace closed his now dry eye and slowly opened it several times. "I was told it was rare."

"It would seem so. When did the symptoms start occurring?"

He lifted his eye to the ceiling in thought. "About six years ago?"

"This amount of deterioration in six years?" There was a tone of surprise.

Ace shifted in nervousness. He wasn't sure he wanted to know but he still asked, this was the best opportunity he had gotten in a while. "Is it bad?"

"I personally have never seen this amount of deterioration in such a short amount of time. I have seen it but there was trauma or age to provide a reason to it." The doctor dropped his voice to a whisper almost like he was talking to himself. "I can't imagine you see much."

"No, not really."

"I wish I was able to do more, but I don't know anything about this condition I fear I'd make it worse. However I can only assume..." He trailed off.

Ace couldn't help himself. "Assume what?"

"Based on the current rate of deterioration, you'll lose what little sight you have maybe two years at best."

"And at worst?"

"A year."

"You're kidding?" He let the words fall before he could stop them.

"No, and that's going off the assumption it won't speed up and you avoid severe trauma to your eyes and head. I think this last blow was bad enough it could've damaged them further."

Ace furrowed his brows. He didn't think that he could see any worse but he hadn't really had the chance to scrutinize his vision. But... the news hadn't been what he was expecting. Completely blind in two years? He felt like he did back then, when he first learned of his failing eyesight, and once more he found himself becoming afraid of that point in the future. With a shake of his head he decided that he would take it day by day like he always had. Besides at least he had one person on the Moby now that knew, it was some comfort (though he didn't think he should tell Marco more than what he already knew, it was too much for him to take in and Ace had known that he was blind.)

"Well, I'm still sorry there's nothing else I can do for you but treat your head injury and even that I can only treat the pain."

"Ah, yeah." Ace was pulled back into reality.

"I'm going to leave the painkiller in here, take them after you eat, I think your companion went to get food. It should be easier on your stomach in this order."

Something was set on the table and rolled a short distance before stopping. Then, Ace assumed, the doctor started packing up.

Once more he was left alone, and as soon as the door closed he let out a shuddering breath. So many things had happened and he just wanted to back to sleep and let things settle down more before he addressed them. He hadn't been this drained when he had found out about his blindness originally. It was like something was pressing down on him. He ran a hand through his hair. Part of him had always expected to wake up one day and have everything be dark, but hearing it was a completely (and probable) circumstance was something completely different.

The door opened and Ace tried to compose himself. He really needed to stop spacing out.

"I have food!" Marco greeted.

Ace looked towards him. "Thanks."

Marco's presence came closer, and he head out both hands for whatever he was going to be eating.

"Sorry its not only broth, its soup. It was the closest I could find."

Ace shrugged, moving so that he was completely upright and crossed his legs. He heard something sloshing and waited for the food to be handed to him, which it was and he quickly adjusted his grip so that it was firmer. He spent a second trying to locate the spoon, not minding the heat from the soup at all. As he took his first bite Marco spoke.

"We'll head back to the ship tomorrow morning. The doctor said you didn't suffer any major damage, yoi."

"Alright." He said after swallowing and took another bite before he spoke again. "What were the exact details of me getting hurt anyway?"

"A seastone bar to your head." Marco replied. "Don't you remember?"

"Its a bit spotty." Ace shrugged taking another spoonful.

"Ah. Well the mission was successful at least."

Ace nodded slightly and Marco didn't speak again. He guessed the older pirate was eating his own meal. Soon after the silence began, Ace was starting to feel full and sick. Lifting the bowl up he hoped Marco would get the hint and take the bowl from him. When Marco took the bowl from him, Ace moved his arm hoping to come into contact with a table, when he didn't find it on one said he switched to the other, the table wasn't there either. He frowned, where could the table be.  
"What are you looking for, yoi?"

"There's some pills on a table." He replied, knowing that it would just be easier to have Marco get them for him.

He heard some movement and then "Here."

"Thanks." He took the medication.

Then he settled back down. Not really tired but he knew that the pill would kick in and he'd get drowsy. A tiny part of him wanted Marco to talk so he could have some sort of entertainment while he waited to fall asleep. Though he knew that Marco wouldn't really start a conversation unless he felt it was needed.

* * *

 

It was a decent amount of time before Ace fell asleep, soft snores filling the silence of the room. Marco had a lot of things he had wanted to ask, but he felt like he would overwhelm Ace (and maybe himself.) So he grabbed the book he had been reading and turned to the pade he had been on.

When he awoke the next moment he spent a few seconds trying to orientate himself, he didn't even remember falling asleep. Once he recalled where he was and who he was with he marked the page he was on (which had thankfully just rested open on his lap) and checked on Ace. The teen was still sleeping peacefully. He stood up and stretched, a symphony of cracks in his spine as he did so, reminding him of his age and the fact he shouldn't sleep in hard chairs.

Slowly he made his way outside, the pale light of the rising sun comforted him somewhat, it looked like it would be smooth sailing to the Moby at least. They'd spent enough time on this island, and he was ready to get back to the ship. Yesterday when he had called, he had called while he searched for something Ace could stomach, the first thing that had happened was a mild scolding for a lack of contact and then surprise when he told Thatch (who had been nearest to the Den Den he assumed) that he should inform the crew they'd be back.

Now that he was on the train of thought of yesterday he remembered what he had learned about his newest family member. He pursed his lips, wondering how he should act around Ace now, knowing the teen he would say don't change but it wasn't that easy. Yesterday evening had shown him how independant Ace was, when the teen had tried to find the pills when there was no way he could've found them or moved enough to get them. With a sigh he decided that he would act as he had been and hope that none of the crew noticed if he did act differently.

The sun was higher now, so he went back inside. When he reached the back room Ace was awake and looking up at the ceiling but he quickly changed his gaze so that it was now on Marco. It was a little surprising how easily the teen was able to find his position so accurate. He made a mental note to see if he could help Ace refine his observation haki, he was thinking that it was just impressions and not the full sight like many skilled users had.

"Morning, yoi."

"Morning." Ace replied back yawning.

Marco wondered if the doctor was going to give one last visit before they left. As soon as he thought it the old man entered the room.  
"I'm not going to hold you here long, but I came by to give you some painkillers in case the pain comes back."

He handed the small bottle to Marco which was filled with green capsules he had seen Ace take last night. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks." Ace echoed.

The doctor raised his hand. "Its the least I can do for the people who got rid of Drago and his gang, treatment is free."

Marco nodded, there hadn't been any proof that it would happen but he had thought at much, people were grateful to pirates when they got them from a worse situation after all

"Well, I'll let you two leave now. You" he was pointing to Ace "don't overexert yourself it."

"I won't." Ace replied quickly.

The older pirate arched a brow, surprised that Ace would be so agreeable but then he figured it was just the teen's eagerness to be able to get out of the bed. As he pondered Ace's reaction the doctor slipped out of the room.

"You think you can stand on your own?" He asked pocketing the pills for the time being.

"Yeah." Ace moved quicker than he had been yesterday and swung his so they were dangling off the bed, brushing the ground.

With careful movements Ace started to stand up, holding onto the table which was now in his reach. About halfway up he stopped and swayed the tiniest amount, Marco started to move forward when the teen righted himself and finished standing.

"See." There was a slight challenge in the voice.

Marco blew air out of his nose, almost like a laugh. "I do, but can you make it all the way back to the boat, yoi."

Ace's face slacked before he set his jaw. "I'll be fine."

Raising his hands in a placating manner which he quickly dropped remembering that Ace couldn't see it, he needed vocal confirmation... not Marco's strong suit. "Just tell me if you need a break."

He hoped that wouldn't rub the fire user's ego the wrong way. Marco assumed it was an okay statement when he wasn't spoken back to in a hostile tone and instead it was just silence.

"Let's go." He took the lead knowing Ace would follow after him.

As he cleared the door he looked back to make sure that Ace was fine, and actually able to follow him. It seemed like the teen, while minorly unsteady, was able to move at a decent enough pace. Marco wouldn't push it, however, he slowed his pace and tried to not look back so often. Ace had been able to walk around an unknown place without much trouble, but the older pirate figured it wouldn't a bad idea to  _listen_ for anything.

About halfway to their boat, he could hear more stumbling, it wasn't constant but it was happen in greater frequency as they walked further. Marco glanced back and saw a thin line of sweat on Ace's brow. He pursed his lips, he knew that the teen was obviously pushing himself but he wasn't sure getting Ace into a bad mood was worth all of the trouble. If it got worse, then he would step in, he nodded to himself before he started walking at a slightly slower pace. Which seemed to help. By the time the boat was finally visible Marco was glancing back constantly, during one such look Ace swayed violently and the first mate reacted instinctively reaching out and grabbing the teen's arm to steady him.

"I'm fine." The fire user grit out.

"Sure. Its a short distance back to the boat. The doctor told you not to push yourself, yoi." He tried to make himself sound reasonable, which he did, but he wasn't sure that he managed.

Ace scowled and he relaxed his arm Marco's grip, but the first mate would take it as an acceptance of his words. Slowly, since he knew that the teen wasn't a fan of sudden moved he wound the fire user's arm around his neck. He waited a few seconds for a protest but instead Ace leaned into him (barely but it was there) and that's when he noticed the unnatural heat of Ace, it made sense considering the teen was made out of fire (and he had noticed it before) but this was somehow different; his phoenix basked in the heat it almost felt like was sighing but Marco could tell it wanted the flame. He ignored it.

Ace was a little more rested when they reached the boat, he pushed away from Marco and finished the walk himself. He was a little worried when Ace lit the bottom of his foot on fire (it was a wooden boat after all), but he soon figured out the teen was trying to find the top of the side. The fire used looked back at Marco and the older pirate started moving again.

"I'll get the boat ready to cast off, yoi."

"I'll help." The younger pirate spoke up.

"Its fine, you're supposed to be taking it easy." Marco didn't mention the fact that once the others saw the bruise he wouldn't be able to get away from the questions.

 _I forgot to tell them Ace got hurt._ Marco swallowed, even though it was such a minor injury it was still an injury and the crew would ask about it, well some would.

It took him another few minutes to untie the knot attach the boat to land, there weren't any easily accessible docks and to push the boat into deeper water to make their departure easier. He was never a fan of the pricks he got in his legs from being waist deep in water, but he'd survive.

"Okay, you can get on board now, yoi." He called back the beach.

Ace was standing at the edge of the wet sand, looking around. Marco held the boat steady.

"The water gets waist deep."

With that he saw the teen square his shoulders before wading into the water. He could tell that the fire user wasn't pleased with the turn of events, he wondered if it was a worse feeling sense fire and water were opposites. Ace made it to the boat and once more he was sweating. Marco was about to offer his help to the teen when Ace gripped the edge of the boat and easily climbed in.

 _Right, he's still a capable pirate even with a concussion and blindness._ Marco mentally reminded himself, he knew that if started to act too differently Ace was just going to get mad at him.

He followed the teen's lead and climbed into the boat. He saw that Ace had taken up the spot he had previously sat in, leaving the oars to Marco. He settled himself down, grabbing the oars and starting to row them back towards the Moby. It was high tide, so the reefs weren't as much of a threat but there were some that reached the surface even with a high water level.

As he had thought earlier getting back the the Moby was easy, he had the breeze against him now, but the waves were small and they were lucky to catch a current that made rowing a little easier. Ace had offered to take the oars, but Marco declined saying that "he should just follow the doctor's orders already." The trip back was silent much like the first one had been, minus the few questions Ace had asked.

Marco was guessing that yesterday was still bothering the teen, not to mention the injury. He knew that head injuries took a lot out of a person, so he kept quiet. He shifted and the pill bottle fell out of his pocket. Quickly he caught it before it rolled into a distant corner of the boat.

"If you're in pain the doctor gave me some painkillers, yoi."

Ace flicked his eyes towards him, before sealing his lips, a couple of more seconds went by before the teen soundlessly extended his hand. Marco handed him the bottle and then adjusted the boat's course. He watched as the fire user fiddled with the bottle, getting it open and taking two before sealing it and sticking into one of his pant pockets that sealed.

By the time the sun reached the middle of the sky they were near enough to the Moby that he could hear the daily workings of the ship. He mentally counted down from three, and when he hit one he heard a shout of: "vessel approaching!"

The slowed his rowing, coasting nearer to the large ship, waiting for him and Ace to be recognized. It wasn't too much longer before he heard another shout.

"Its Marco and Ace! Open the door!"

The creaking of wood and hinges started after and navigated the skiff into the 'dock'. Marco had done it enough times he could do it with his eyes closed, but it always paid to be cautious in case of something unforeseen. The good thing about being an expert on docking this skiff was that he didn't have numerous people to run down and help, he'd be able to get to the deck before he was assaulted with questions and welcome backs.

"Oh, and Ace?" He spoke suddenly.

"Hmm?" The teen looked at him.

"Everyone is going to crowd around us." He replied somewhat apologetically.

That seemed to wake the younger pirate up, apparently he didn't do well with medicine.

"Is that so?"

"Its tradition, there's probably a party planned since it was your first mission, yoi."

Ace pulled a face that spoke of his displeasure. Marco now understood the aversion to groups, but he knew that it was one thing the teen was going to have to compromise with. The Whitebeard's liked their parties after all.

Marco was the first to get off of the skiff, rolling his shoulders which were still stiff from his night in a poorly made chair. Ace was right behind him, his was slightly less graceful, but Marco attributed it to the medication. On the brightside Ace would be able to rest a little before the feast started.

Jozu walked down from the platform with the door levers, nodding in greeting before he joined them. His fellow commander glanced at him and then at Ace, Jozu noticed the bruise right away, which wasn't hard considering the size and color of it.

"What happened to you, Ace?"

"Huh? Oh, its just a bruise." The teen shrugged.

Marco crossed his arms, he knew that this was going to be a common question, but at least Ace would get to experience some of the Whitebeard pirate's connection with each other in private.

"How'd you get it though?" Jozu's tone had changed, it was lower.

"In a fight, let my guard down too early.

The first mate nodded, Ace was learning so he hoped that Ace was this compliant to everyone else's questioning, and thankfully Jozu wasn't the type to question too much.

"Let's head to the deck, yoi." Marco suggested.

Jozu grunted, and Ace nodded. The trio walked up in silence, Ace started rubbing at his bruise lightly, and Marco realized that it was the first time Ace was really learning what a visible bruise he had. He shook his head, the teen should have known that getting that hard would leave a visible bruise.

The deck was just as Marco expected, and was used to. It was loud and filled with various forms of welcome backs. He saw Thatch push his way to the front of the crowd. "Welcome back Marco, Ace!"

"Yeah, we were only gone for a couple of day, why the fanfare?" He laughed, he knew the reason well, but it always made him happy, the love of this family.

"You know the reason better than anyone Marco." Thatch grinned back, then he turned his attention to Ace.

Like Jozu it only took the chef a few seconds to notice the oblong bruise.

"Looks like you took a solid hit there Ace."

Ace stiffened, and Marco wanted to give him comfort, but he wasn't sure how he should do that, the teen had been tense since they had reached the deck. "It looks worse than it is."

Thatch looked unconvinced. "You're a logia type right, had to have sea stone or some sort of haki to leave a mark."

Ace shrugged once more. "Its the New World, people have such things. Its not a big deal."

The chef looked to Marco for help, the first mate shrugged Ace wasn't technically lying about the injury or people coming into contact with sea stone, and haki was almost a must if you were going to be a big name in the seas. Thatch was about to continue his inquiry when Haruta bounded up.

"You guys are back already? I thought you guys would be gone for a week?"

"It was easier to find the troublemakers than we thought it would be." Marco answered.

Thatch looked irritated that his questioning had been cut short. Several other crew members came up, and beside him he felt Ace shift somewhat behind him. Marco didn't want to cut his family's celebration short, but he knew the teen just wanted to rest and they still had to talk to Pops.  
He took in a deep breath and attempted to address the entire crowd.

"We have to talk to Pops, your questions can wait at least that long, yoi."

There was a murmur of agreement, and it was rare that anyone would object after hearing Pop's name. He started to walk, Ace trailing right behind him looking a little more comfortable as they were given more space. Thatch called after them as they left.

"Don't forget there will be a party tonight!"  
Marco raised his hand to indicate that he had heard the chef. He started to head to Pop's room knowing the old pirate wouldn't be out on deck quite yet. The teen followed right behind him, but was starting to slow down.

"Ace?"

"So they're really having this party?"

"Yeah, you'll find out even the most minor of reasons will cause a massive celebration." Marco replied.

Ace made a noise, and the first mate slightly pitied him knowing his distaste for crowds. He smiled to himself before speaking. "Most of the time you can get away when more and more people start going for the sake, the drinking competition will take most everyone's attention."

"Thanks for the tip."

They reached Pop's room not much longer after that. The teen was shifting behind him again as he knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Marco opened the door and held it open for Ace with a whispered "go in." The fire user walked in and moved over to the side leaning against the wall nearest to the door, the first mate came in after, closing the door quietly.

Pops was sitting up on his bed looking at them with a raised brow. "I was surprised to hear you were coming back so soon."

"It was easily taken care of, yoi." Marco answered.

"I wouldn't expect any less," he paused and Marco knew that the question about Ace's face was coming. "And it seems there was a fight."

"Yeah. The bandits didn't want to surrender peacefully and overestimated themselves."

"Ace, my son, you got injured?"

Marco knew without looking that the teen was once again tensed up. It was annoying constantly getting asked about an injury, he knew, and he while he could help deflect the other crewmate's attention it was Pop's duty as their captain and father to look after their wellbeing.

Ace didn't say anything for a few seconds before sighing. "Its nothing bad, just a hit on the head."

"Hits on the head can be bad, damage you can't see." Pops continued.

"I got it checked out."

Marco stopped himself from visibly moving, now the teen was getting defensive which could be counterproductive in the end.

"Marco?" Pops said.

"He did get checked out by a doctor, and we spent a day resting."  
Pops nodded pleased with the news. "Anything else happen?"

"Nothing but the small fight with the bandits, yoi." Marco's mind briefly flicked to yesterday's discovery.

"Alright. You may leave. Marco, I wish to speak to you later."

"Sure, Pops."

Ace was already making his way to the door and Marco followed after him. They walked in silence towards Ace's room. Marco knew there was a lot that needed to be said, but somehow he knew that the teen's mood was souring so he didn't push the conversation. He did let his mind wander to what Pop's wanted to speak with him about. It was probably something about the crew, nothing important he guessed otherwise he would've been held back while Ace was allowed to leave. With a nod, he decided that he would head back after he dropped the fire user off at his room.

The teen was about to slip inside, when Marco stopped him. "Remember this party is for you, and you need to make an appearance for the guy's sake. I'll come get you when it's time, yoi."

Ace stayed quiet before sighing in resignation. "Fine."

The teen slipped into his room silently and Marco started making his way back to Pop's room. It was taking less coaxing to get Ace to do things with the family, he noted with some satisfaction. He was also sure that he hadn't given any indication that something was wrong with the teen. There wasn't a doubt that it would be a challenge to keep the secret between them, there were some very observant people on this ship. But he guessed Ace had already accounted for it. He sighed, wondering if he shouldn't just go sleep on his bed until the party.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is a Marco centric chapter, ah well, its good to get another perspective on things isn't it? Well, I hope you liked the chapter! As a kind of future reference thing, the next two chapter's I am going to spend developing the relationships, so if you want to see something maybe leave it in the reviews below and I can see if I can fit it in. I'm thinking before I move on to the big part of the story I'm going to need some more in the relationship department. Well, that was kind of a side note, now on to the actual chat session which is just kind of two points, okay!
> 
> 1.) I'm glad you're all super excited for my story!
> 
> 2.) I tried to develop some more Marco and Ace undertones? So I don't know if I got the 'there could be something here' feeling, so why don't you all give me some feedback on what I can do to change it, but keep in mind that they've known each other for barely over two months at this point!
> 
> Thanks! See you next time!


	6. Chapter 5: Party and Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party for Ace's first official mission happens, Marco is watchful, and someone is always out for blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would personally like to apologize that this is a short chapter, if anyone reads my tumlbr you'd get part of the story, but for the most part this is short. But I think that the quality isn't as bad, but this is short because 1)Writer's block plain and simple, 2)traveling 3)the timeline that I created. I wanted to get something developing around this point to keep everyone's interest and let you all know that yes I do have a plot and am not making this up as I go. I'll talk more on the bottom with the chat session. And I nothing thing before I let you go and read I was participating in Marcoace week which kind of took a lot of my creativity, so I'm sorry for that, but in the end it worked out alright. With that being said, here we go!
> 
> DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE 
> 
> See you at the bottom!

Ace woke up to a throbbing head and knocking on his door. He groaned as he felt around in his pockets for the pills Marco gave him, but the knocking hadn't stopped.

"Who is it?"

"Marco, yoi."

He sighed, finally finding the pills and after seconds of struggling to open it he got it. "Come in."

The door open and closed briefly and Ace ignored Marco in favor of swallowing the pill he had pulled out.

"The party is starting shortly." Marco said.

"I have to go?" Ace asked, almost pouting.

"It is for you, yoi."

He didn't want to go, he didn't ask for a party, but it would be rude not to show up. It would probably be easy to slip away once the party got into the main part, but until then it would be loud. He'd also have to deal with people coming up to him and trying to make conversation, which didn't sound appealing with the throbbing in his head.

Then again they went through all of that trouble too throw a party and he didn't want it cancelled because of a  _headache,_ that could've been avoided had he been paying attention.

"How much longer?" He asked Marco.

"Its not starting until you show up." The older pirate replied.

Ace flopped back on the bed thinking, his head was still throbbing, but it would be nice to get something to eat, and maybe share a cup of sake in good nature. He ran his hand over his face before slowly sitting up.

"Give me a couple of minutes to look presentable." He tried to make it sound more like a question than a statement.

"I'll be outside, yoi." The door clicked shut.

Ace took a minute to stretch and pop his neck before getting up to try and make himself presentable. He just ran his hands over his hair in an attempt to flatten it out and he tugged at his shirt to smooth out the wrinkles; he was just going to have to hope that he looked presentable.

Slowly he made his way towards the doors, and took a deep breath. He shoved open the door, and noticed Marco the left of it right away.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." He answered quickly. "How do these things usually go?"

He wondered if Marco shrugged by the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was reciting a play. "First the person the party is for gets the first bit of food, if such a person exists, and then everyone eats to the point of bursting, yoi. Once they're done eating someone brings out the sake, and there's one more toast for the person; after that it's a drinking party."

Ace nodded, that meant he could leave a little bit after that toast, it didn't sound like it would be too strenuous or problematic for him, it might even be fun if not for the throbbing in his head.

The party started out nice, Thatch was kind enough to bring him a plate of food, which he dug into right away (once he joined the crew he instantly got an appreciation for the chef's cooking). It tasted like some sort of Sea King meat that was grilled, and it had some kind of vegetable dish with it. It was amazing. Around him he could hear the rest of the crew tuck into their food.

When he had arrived at the party he had been separated from Marco, and vaguely he wondered where the older male went, he was used to his presence next to him by now. Ace finished his second plate and was about to ask for another when he felt something poke his cheek.

"Here."

_Ah, there's Marco._

"Thanks Marco!"

He could hear rustling beside him, and he guessed that it was Marco sitting next to him. His guess was confirmed when the older pirate spoke.

"Food taste alright, yoi?"  
"Yeah!" Ace said, temporarily forgetting his manners and speaking with his mouthful.

"Thatch will be glad to hear that. I heard this was a particularly stubborn Sea King, almost not worth cooking according to the kitchen's aids, yoi."

Ace swallowed. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah, Moby took some damage from the thing thrashing around, but that's been fixed, yoi."

The younger pirate took another bite of the meat, he had a newfound appreciation for it that made it taste better. He had noticed that despite the large number of people there wasn't much more noise that if they had been having a normal dinner in the dining hall.

"I thought this was a party, was is everyone so quiet?" He asked Marco.

"Its because everyone is eating, yoi."

Ace blinked, that made sense. Without further questioning he went back to his food. He finished this plate, and another one appeared before him.

"You have quite the appetite once you get going."

The fire-user stopped himself from jumping at the unexpected voice, getting over his surprise was easy when he realize it was Thatch, and he could feel something hot by his shoulder. Carefully he took the plate from the chef.

"I like enjoying good food." He said before tucking into the food.

"Marco, he complimented me, did you hear that?" Thatch asked, and his tone was teasing, but Ace could guess that he was still happy about it.

He actually hadn't thought about his words, paying the chef an unexpected compliment. Not that he minded because it was honest, he did like good food.

"I heard." Marco replied, his voice as equally teasing.

Thatch responded to Marco's teasing, but Ace ignored them in favor of his food. He wondered if the two next to him had any food he could snatch, because he was almost done with this plate as well.

"Slow down Ace, this is your party." Thatch stopped bickering long enough to make that comment.

Ace shrugged. His fast eating was a habit he never broke, remembering to many nights he went hungry because he didn't eat fast enough. Though those nights started happening when he started to lose his sight, only because he couldn't see what he was grabbing. When he told Luffy about his condition, his brother had made the attempt to grab enough food for the two of them. He hadn't had much of a chance for a rowdy dinner like that since he left Dadan and everyone, and the Whitebeard's dinners, while chaotic, never got that crazy.

"Alright I think its time to bring out the booze, I'll be back." Thatch said as he stood up and moved away.

"Its about to go into full swing now." Marco commented idley.

Ace titled his head towards him. "Do I have to do anything special?"

"No, its just a toast, yoi."

A weight lifted off of him. Now there was less of a chance of him embarrassing himself. Marco started to move beside him and Ace arched a brow in confusion.

"As the first mate I'm the one that gives the toasts."

"Oh." Ace didn't let the frown appear, he rather liked Marco's company, and he didn't think it was all due to the older male knowing his secret.

Several minutes later and Ace heard the sound of something rolling across the deck. He guessed it was the ale they were going to bring out, he heard several people milling about and he guessed that they were filling mugs up.

There was clacking to his side and he turned his head to face it, in the poor light he couldn't make anything out and frowned.

"Here you go."

"Thanks Izou." He reached up, hopefully reaching for the mug the first time, thankfully he was able to find it.

"Enjoying the party so far?"

"Its nice."

Izou moved and Ace tried to mentally follow him to figure out his position.

"It'll get rowdy, but I guess you would be used to it."

Ace wondered how different their definitions of 'rowdy' were. He had been to some loud bars in the past, and he grew up with bandits, but his gut feeling was that this was going to be an experience. Though he didn't feel inclined to tell Izou that.

Soon enough he heard someone clearing their throat, and the crowd quieted down. Ace knew that it was Marco, he had experienced that man's control of this crew before. It was incredible.

"Let's give a toast to our newest brother, Ace, yoi!"

Ace raised his mug up in a sort of toast, and there was a loud roar of approval that startled him. He wondered if his participation was even needed.

"You're adjusting well to being in the crew." Izou was speaking above the din.

Ace took a long drink from his mug, most likely this was going to be his only drink of the night. He was too worried what he would spill if his was completely inhibited.

"Its... nice." Ha answered honestly.

"That's good. Well, this is my official welcome to the family." Izou tapped his mug to Ace's, or so he guessed that what happened.

"Thank you."

After Izou left more people came up to him, some in groups and others by themselves all welcoming him to the family and congratulating him on his first successful mission. The attention was making him slightly nervous, but he knew that everyone was too sober for him to slip away unnoticed. He'd have to wait a little longer.

Of course his plans get completely destroyed.

He heard Thatch's heavy footsteps and then a groan as he sat down.

"Ah, this really hits the spot, don't you think Ace?"

"Its good quality booze." He replied, sipping his for good measure.

"You don't have to savor it, enjoy yourself!" Thatch laughed.

"Ah I-" He got cut off.

"I brought you another mug."

"Thanks." He sighed.

At least he had a high tolerance, thanks to his internal body temperature burning most of the alcohol off before it settled in and made him drunk. He finished his first drink and started on his second.

Ace really wanted to quit after that, but somehow Thatch kept giving him mugs, from where he didn't know because the man didn't get up. He had tried to stop after the third but then Thatch had teased him for being a lightweight, and he couldn't have that.

So now he had drunk enough that would've knocked a regular man out by now, and he was laughing along with Thatch's lame joke.

Y'know Acey... I wash really shhocked when you shhowed up injuured." Thatch slurred.

Ace laughed nervously. "It happens."

"But you w're with Marco." The chef argued.

"Yeah..." He said slowly. "But it's not his job to look out for me, it was my mistake."

Ace tensed the moment an arm was slung around him, resting heavily on his shoulders. He hadn't expected the movement, and the proximity was making him nervous. The doctor hadn't told him if his eyes were different looking, and there was always the off chance that someone would notice. Besides, he wasn't a fan of surprise contact.

"I could make you forget that injury of yoursh." Thatch's voice dropped lower.

He knew that type of voice well, it wasn't a rare occurrence that people approached him in bars or taverns. Though he didn't think that Thatch was that type of person, he seemed like the type that preferred to visit the brothels with the busty women. Ace was stuck, he couldn't shove Thatch off of him on the account that he would miss and hit something more harmful that his chest, but drunken men weren't easy to talk with, and there was also the chance that Thatch could turn aggressive (he doubted it) and he didn't want to fight him; he'd always been lacking in minding his strength.

"It doesn't hurt. I already forgot about it." He replied nonchalantly. "Could you please get off of me?"

"C'mon Acey."

He winced at the nickname, his name was Ace and that was it. As suddenly as the arm appeared it was taken off of him and he felt the familiar aura of Marco, it was slightly more intense than normal, but not as bad as it had been when they fought Drago and his crew.

"Thatch, he said to get off of him." Marco said, and it was serious, but there was no threat behind it.

Ace heard the chef mutter something, but it was likely nothing important as he heard something stumbling away.

"Sorry about that. Thatch is a very handsy drunk, next time push him off." Marco said.

Ace knew the phoenix was in front of him so he turned to face him. "Okay. I didn't know how he'd react. Some can get mean."

"That's true, yoi."

He let out a long sigh.

"You alright?" Marco's voice softened.

Ace knew he wasn't asking about the Thatch incident, but about his head and everything else. "Yeah, tired, probably drunk more than I should've."

Marco didn't say anything, but then muttered an 'oh right.' Ace didn't need to see to know that he had just nodded and waited for a response. "That's how these things go. You can probably slip back to your room now if you wish to."

Ace nodded this time, and slowly stood up. He didn't think his motor skills were that impaired but it was always hard to tell if he had been stationary while drinking. Thankfully he was able to stand up and only have a slight wavering to him.

"You good?"

"Just fine!" He replied feeling the grin tug at this lips.

"Alright."

Ace made his way back to his room, wondering why he felt so light inside.

* * *

 

Marco had been in the middle of a conversation with Jiru, when he happened to look over to where Ace was. He'd been checking on Ace throughout the night, but he hadn't been able to get near the teen until he was mostly done with his own meal. The first mate wanted to make sure the other was alright with the crowd and everyone coming up to him, and so far no one had caused much of a scene.

Of course it was Thatch that would break the streak. Marco loved his brother, he did, but sometimes that man's love of the party life caused a lot more trouble than he would like to deal with. He knew where it was going before it even really got started.

He excused himself from Jiru and tried to get to Ace before something happened, but he tried to make it look casual; meaning he got stopped for conversation at least twice.

"C'mon Acey." Marco sighed inwardly, of course Thatch was completely smashed.

Though the first mate didn't miss the wince the teen gave at the nickname. He sped up his pace and no one came to interrupt him from getting to the dou. Marco felt his phoenix stir, which was odd because logically he knew Thatch wasn't a threat.

The phoenix picked up the chef's arm that was wrapped around Ace trying to not look at the appendage like it had personally offended him.

"Thatch, he said to get off of him." Marco said, he was only assuming Ace had said that but he made sure he sounded serious.

He heard the chef mutter something, but it was likely nothing important as Thatch was drunkenly stumbling away towards his next victim.

"Sorry about that. Thatch is a very handsy drunk, next time push him off, yoi." Marco said.

He watched as Ace turned directly toward him almost making eye contact. "Okay. I didn't know how he'd react. Some can get mean."

"That's true, yoi."

Ace let out a long sigh.

"You alright?" Marco' softened his voice on instinct.

He hoped that Ace would understand that he wasn't talking about the Thatch incident. "Yeah, tired, probably drunk more than I should've."

Marco nodded he was in a similar situation, he was sure that otherwise he wouldn't have been so quick to rectify the Ace-Thatch situation and let the two solved it for himself, but that time he couldn't help himself. He blinked as he realized that Ace couldn't see him nod.

"Oh right." He found himself whispering and then speaking up."That's how these things go. You can probably slip back to your room now if you wish to, yoi."

Ace nodded this time, and slowly stood up. Marco waited while the younger pirate got up slowly. He wondered how much Thatch had made the younger drink if his movement was that impaired, if his power was anything like Marco's it would've had to been a hell of a lot of booze.

"You good?"

"Just fine!" Ace grinned at him.

"Alright." Marco found himself grinning back despite himself.

He watched Ace go, and Marco knew he had drunk too much when he had thought he had saw a bounce in the teens step. Marco shook his head trying to clear it of the light feeling that settled in his chest.

_No more booze for me tonight._

* * *

 

_**/+3days/** _

* * *

 

The first mate laughed as he watched Ace try and catch Thatch for one reason or another, he wasn't sure. Still he had a break from paperwork for the first time in a long time and decided to spend it standing outside in the warm air. It helped that he could watch his brothers mingle on the deck in the relaxed atmosphere.

"How rare for you to be out at noon." Izou sauntered up to him.

He wondered if had done anything out of character recently that would give the other commander a reason to try and pry into his personal life.

"I finished all the important documents already, I thought I would get some fresh air before I went back to work." He shrugged.

Izou pursed his lips. "That so?"

"Yeah." Marco arched a brow.

The kimono clad man turned his eyes to the lower deck, finding Ace and Thatch, the smaller of the two was quickly closing in and their game of tag was going to turn into a wrestling match quickly. He was glad to see the past couple of days awkwardness was gone between them, he'd been worried about that after the party. Though it seemed like it worked itself out.

"I thought it was because you were checking on Ace." Izou spoke aloud.

The first mate really wondered what he had done to get this treatment. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know, since you two came back from the mission it seems like you're throwing glances at Ace every chance you get."

Marco swallowed. He supposed it was possible that he was looking at Ace more, if only to make sure that his secret stayed a secret and that he was managing well. But of course someone would notice and it had to be Izou, if it had been Thatch he would never hear the end of it. At least with the sixteenth division commander it would only last until something more interesting and gossip worthy happened.

"He did get injured under my watch." Marco tried. "But its mostly coincidence, yoi."

"Is that all? Ace isn't all that bad looking, and you guys did have a few days alone." Izou winked at him.

The other male had him at the fact that Ace was attractive, anyone who could see could tell that, but there was nothing more than that. "That's all."

The kimono clad male pouted. "Boring."

Marco shrugged.

"There's something going on though, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

The first mate was glad that Izou was focusing on their relationship rather than there being something off about Ace himself. His gaze shifted from his comrade to the lower deck where Ace just got tackled by Haruta.

Both of them were laughing, and smiling looked better on Ace's face than any other emotion he had seen so far. He relaxed his stance as he watched. Izou kept his eyes on him, and Marco knew that the topic wasn't dropped yet.

He stood up from where he was leaning and raised his arms behind his head to stretch.

"Better get back to that paperwork." He quickly walked off.

* * *

 

_**/+2 days/** _

* * *

 

Ace made his way to the dining hall, rubbing his eyes as he navigated the hall way. For some reason he had been sleeping a lot better on the ship making it harder for him to wake up, which meant that he was starting to feel more comfortable. He wasn't sure how he felt about that yet.

There were footsteps coming up from behind him and he shifted to the side to let the person pass should they choose to.

"Ace."

He turned around towards Marco's voice. "Morning!"

Ace heard a breathy noise from the other indicating a laugh. "Its closer to noon than the morning."

"Ah, what're you going to do?" Ace shrugged.

"I thought I might catch you before you walk into the chaos that is the dining hall at the moment." Marco replied.

"Why is any crazier than any other day?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone gets excited when a bounty is raised, yoi."

As he said that Ace felt a surge of excitement in his chest. Bounties were an important part of being a pirate, the more impressive the bounty the more impressive you were or how much the Navy wanted you dead. He had an impressive bounty himself, it had been a good start coming from East Blue, from stealing his Devil's Fruit. But his bounty hadn't been impressive until he took out 3 Marine cruisers in a single fire fist. Since then it had stayed pretty stationary.

"Whose was it?"

"Yours."

His eyes widened, he didn't think he had done anything recently that would've made that marines nervous. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, it jumped by a lot, at least 80 million belis, yoi."

Ace tilted his head. "The only thing I've done is help you take out Drago's crew."

"The Marines found out you joined Pops. Happens everytime someone with a decent bounty joins, though I'm sure it has something to do with taking out those bandits as well. The marines couldn't do anything about them because most of their men weren't strong enough, yoi." Marco explained.

"Ah." It was a weird reason for a bounty raise, but he couldn't complain. "What's it up to?"

"365,000,000."

Ace whistled.

"Not a bad price for a rookie." He heard the teasing tone in Marco's voice. "You're in the range of the commanders now."

The teen shrugged. East Blue had never had a bounty like that come from their waters, if you ignored the former Pirate King, so that was something, but then again he didn't get that price while he was in those waters. He wondered what Dadan and Luffy would be saying to his bounty; and he didn't have to guess to what Garp's reaction would be.

"Haruta's just got raised as well. Up by another 10 million beri, yoi."

That was no surprise, Ace thought, the other had gone on a mission the day after he and Marco returned.

"The marine sure don't beat around the bush when they raise this crew's bounty."

"Yeah, they won't actively do anything though, they hope that bounty hunters or other pirates will get greedy and go after us, yoi." Ace could almost hear the others shrug.

"So everyone is celebrating?"

"Like any pirate crew would, it gets worse when a person gets their first bounty."

"Some people don't have bounties yet?" That sounded impossible on a crew this strong.

"Yeah, but that's only because the Navy focuses on the true powerhouses and commanders, yoi."

_That makes sense._ He thought. "But no party like the other night?"

"No, just people coming up to you throughout the day congratulating you."

Ace bit back a sigh. It sounded nice to have people proud of his accomplishments, but he was still recovering from the attention he had gotten from his head injury (which wasn't affecting him as much and the nurses say his bruise is looking better each day) and first mission. It would be too soon for him to start dealing with a large amount of people paying attention to him again.

He heard Marco shift next to him, and he turned his attention back onto the other.

"You know, you could go up to the top crow's nest, yoi."

Ace blinked. "On watch? Marco..."

"We have a three tiered mast. Most of the time we don't use the top one unless we know we're going to attack or be attacked." The older pirate explained.  
He didn't see where this was going.

"Not many people make the climb because they don't have a head for heights, yoi."

_Oh! He's giving me a place to hang out until this dies down._ Something in Ace's chest shifted at the kind gesture.

"You just keep climbing the rope up, it tapers off the closer you get to it, but the rigging doesn't get all the way to the mast, so you'd have to make a short walk across on of the gallant yards."

Ace shrugged. He'd honestly walked across a lot more dangerous things when he was a kid, this would be fairly simple, he had excellent balance.

"But first, breakfast!"  
He thought he heard something like "one track mind" from Marco. Ace blew air out of his nose as a laugh. It was true, when he was hungry all he could think about was food, but he'd at least check out the crow's nest that the first mate was talking about. He hadn't known the place existed before (he couldn't see it, in truth he probably didn't know half of this ship's hiding spots it'd be one hell of a hide and seek game.)

There were footsteps and he guessed that Marco was heading off to whatever place that he was heading before.

"Marco, one more thing."  
"Yes?"

"What's for breakfast?"

"Brat."

* * *

 

The doctor walked to the front door slowly, the coffee not having the chance to take effect yet. It was likely going to be another slow day, so he didn't feel bad about his sluggish behavior. In the years following the burning of the Gray Terminal most of his clientele had died down, he made enough to get by but he had been an associate of the Pirate crew. He had given them medical care and occasionally fed their drug habits, it had been lucrative at the very least. But then they suddenly vanished when the flames died down and the only thing he could think was it was the fault of that trio of brats.

As he opened the door he looked down and saw that the paper was already there, rolled up neatly. The doctor bent down and picked it up, noticing that it was heavier than usual.  _Bounty day?_ He didn't think that it was time for that already but with how many pirates kept popping up he wouldn't be surprised if the Navy had decided to split the bounties between two days.

He opened up to the middle of the paper, looking through at the bounties. There were several newer ones, their bounties low, and the low risk hunters would easily pick them up for pocket change. Then as he flicked through he got to the bounty raises, several of the pictures had been updated. Whitebeard's crew was next, if there were any raises, they'd been quiet recently.

The first of the crew to show up was one of the commanders Haruta their name read, a small raise in their already impressive bounty. However, the next one was more interesting, he guessed the kid was a newcomer, 'Fire Fist Ace' with a bounty of 365,000,000. It was impressive for a kid that young, he guessed the hike was due to joining with the Whitebeards.

But there was still something familiar about the man on the poster. The doctor narrowed his eyes in thought, there was something about that face, whether it was the smirk or the look in his eyes. He just couldn't place it, and where had he heard the name Ace before?

"Shishishi! That's Ace for you!" The doctor knew that laugh anywhere.

It was one of the trio that ruined him, he was also the only one that had come into town in the more recent years.  _So that's where I've heard the name Ace before, is that why he looks familiar?_

He shrugged walking back into his clinic, still staring at the wanted poster, it was odd, he didn't just think it was because he saw that brat running around.

"Doctor? What are you staring at so intently?" His nurse asked.

"This." He turned the poster around to face her.

The nurse frowned. "I thought his name was Mason?"

"Mason?" The doctor repeated, confused.

Then it clicked. Mason! He was the kid from years ago that had the rare eye condition, but now he was pirating with that type of damage to his eyes. If he really was that Ace kid, this could be a very good opportunity to get revenge.

Only he wouldn't have a chance on taking on a kid like that, it wasn't his job, but he did know some bounty hunters that had taken out some pretty big names in the past.

"Maria, I'm not going to be open on time today." He said as he passed the nurse.

"Oh, sure." She said before sitting down at her desk going back to sifting through files.

Doctor Conner headed back to his room where he had a snail phone, and underneath it would be the number he needed. He set the newspaper and wanted poster down on his bed, looking at the taunting picture of Ace. A scowl formed on his face, it was the kid's fault he had lost his best customers. This was just payback.

He lifted the phone and pulled the slip of paper out, there were several numbers on it, but he already knew which one he needed.

Quickly he put the number in and waited, the snail rung a total of five times before someone picked it up.  
"This is East Blue Finders, how may I help you?" The person who answered was a woman with a very chipper voice.

He read the instructions on the paper. "I would like to use to locate something for me."

"One moment."

Doctor Conner could hear movement on the other side, and for a few minutes it was just muffled sound. He sighed, tapping his foot impatiently, just as he was about to yell at the women to hurry up there was a sound that was different from the others. It sounded like someone was inhaling.

"This is , what can I help you find?"

Doctor Conner swallowed, it was always a danger to work with these people, especially since he didn't know how they felt about Whitebeard, several bounty hunters wouldn't go near that man's crew.

"There's this person, he has a wanted poster, Portgas D. Ace, I want him found and turned in for the bounty." He said, hoping his voice didn't shake too much.

"Portgas? That's a man of Whitebeard, not that we have a problem going after them, but it'd be dangerous and  _expensive."_ practically purred that last word.

"You can have 60 percent of the bounty."

"Oh?" The man sounded more interested now. "That doesn't take care of the danger part."

"I have information that'll make it that much easier to capture him."

"Hmm, and if Whitebeard goes after us?"

"I doubt he would, Portgas is new to the crew it seems." Doctor Conner hopped he was sounding convincing.

"What do you have on him?"

The doctor swallowed again, there was a chance that they wouldn't believe him, and that could be bad. He knew his information sounded ridiculous, but with such a generous payment he hopped they would be agreeable.

"Well, Portgas, he's blind or very close to it."

"Whitebeard took on a blind pirate? You want me to believe that?" 's voice had dropped.

"Yes. It sounds improbable, but I saw the kids eyes, I know those symptoms." He repeated, the tremble in his voice now noticiable.

"Are you a doctor?"

"Yes. The condition eats away at a person's sight. He may be able to see still, but it won't be much."

The bounty hunter made a low noise in his throat. "Very well, but if you're lying to us, I will personally make sure your body is never found and everyone you know has paid for you mistake. I don't like liars."

"Of course. I'll leave you my information as a gesture of goodwill." Doctor Conner said, raising his hand up even though the other man couldn't see him. He quickly repeated his number, business location, and gave them his name.

"We'll be in contact. I assume you would like to see your prise yourself before we hand him to the Marines."

"That would be agreeable. But don't kill him, he's caused me personal injury and I would like to see him suffer for it."

"Are you truly an average doctor?"

"Of course." He smirked, he may be a doctor but he was not so nice that he forgot and forgave hurts such as these.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! Yehaw there's some plot for you, and before you go off, yes I am taking some writer's liberties with convinence and things, but then again isn't that what a lot of people do sometimes. But what are your thoughts? Yay or nay? What's going to happen? Questions shall be answered in due time, but I'd like some theories here!
> 
> As for the bounty and things, I know Ace's final bounty is about 550 million and Whitbeard and Marco in the anime made a comment about his bounty being so high, so I tried to pick one in the middle, so thats where that number came from. 
> 
> Also, is the marcoace still to subtle or is it a little better now? I think its just right, but I like hearing your opinions on things, they make me happy.
> 
> Tell me if there's any big errors that you can't over look and as always leave your thoughts below! See you next time! Later! ~IF


	7. Chapter 6: Bonding At Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace bonds with various members of the crew, specifically Marco, but the others are around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Wheezes* I've finished the chapter, yehaw~! Back to the normal length, which also means that this is the last chapter before I move onto the main arc. I tried to develop character relations in this chapter for the next part, and hopefully I did well. And what it was a little bit of a longer wait to? I don't know why but I just had trouble focusing and motivating myself to actually work on the story. *shrug* either way here's the update. Please enjoy!  
> DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
> 
> See you at the bottom!

 

_**/+3 days/** _

* * *

It had been several days since the bounty raise and for the most part he had avoided the congratulation crowd, a few people still came to him, but he could at least handle a small crowd. As Marco had suggested he had climbed up to the top most crow's nest, and had been left well enough alone. The place was a lot more comfortable than metal cross beams in the boiler room.

Ace had always liked high places. When he had been younger he would climb the tallest trees or lookout from the highest cliff ledges, just so he could see everything and feel free. He found that he liked tall places at sea even better; the wind whipping through his hair and the sun beating down on his back. It just felt like how freedom should feel, and he felt like he was the only one as the sounds of the crew below were muted by the height and the wend. It was easily the best place on the ship.

He'd have to thank Marco for telling him about it later. This was the type of place he needed, just so he could be himself and breathe. Acting was hard now that he was having to do it long term.

The ropes shifted and creaked causing Ace to tense up, the smile falling from his face. He didn't know who it was and if he was going to act like he was on watch he needed to look serious.

"I see you've taken to actually nesting up here, yoi."

The teen let out a breath as he relaxed, it was just Marco but he had to stop his blush, he'd brought up some blankets for comfort and they sort of resembled a sloppy nest.

"You like it up here?"

"Yeah." He breathed out. "Its nice."

"It is." Marco agreed. "Nothing like being up high, yoi."

"Somehow it's liberating." Ace replied.

"Just being up here is nice, but you want liberation? Try flying, yoi."

Ace had always wondered what fligh, under his own power, felt like. "You talk like you know it."

Marco chuckled. "I do. Why do you think I was given the name The Phoenix?"

Truthfully, he hadn't thought about moniker, but he agreed there had to be a story or reason behind it. "I thought it was because you wouldn't die and the Marines were fed up with it."

"We the Marines would probably like to see me dead, yoi. But it's because of my Devil's Fruit.  
"You ate a fruit?"  _That's surprising._

"The Phoenix fruit, a mythical zoan type, yoi."

"A mythical zoan?" He was in awe, mythical zoans were the rarest of the rare, and the powers the eaters gained were incredible.

"Yes."

Ace recalled a picture he saw once in a book in Dadan's collection if a bird coated in flame. The picture had been blurry due to his distance from it, but without a doubt he knew that it was beautiful.  _What does Marco look like when he's in that form?_

"Thatch is always saying that my love of heights is thanks to the bird, and I wonder if it is sometimes, yoi. I certainly have a preference to it. What about you?"

Ace realized several things: one Marco was talking more than normal , two Marco was talking about himself, and three this was an attempt at conversation that meant something and wasn't about his wellbeing. While he liked to keep to himself, the other already knew one of his deepest secrets. It wouldn't hurt him to give a little more away, right? But it was putting a lot of trust in Marco, though he realized that Marco had trusted him by telling him about his powe. The older had given up the element of surprise by revealing that power. Besides he didn't have to tell him  _everything._

"When I was younger getting up high made me feel free and important." He answered, but he wanted to throw Marco off a little. "Also safety, alligators can't climb trees well."

"You were chased by alligators? Did you live close to them, yoi?" Marco's tone was confused and slightly concerned.

"No, well yes, they'd chase after us because we would throw rocks at them." Only after he finished did he realize that he slipped up and said 'us'.

"Taunting alligators? That's a new hobby for me, yoi."

"We hunted them!" Ace's voice swelled with pride, what other ten year old could've taken on a monster gator and lived to talk about it.

"Sounds fun." Marco was amused sounding.

"It was." Ace trailed off as he thought about those days with Luffy and Sabo.

"Dinner is in an hour if you want to come down."

He turned his head as Marco started to climb down the rigging. Ace wondered what just happened, the older pirate had gotten him to open up so effortlessly and without himself knowing that it was happening. Whatever the reason was or how it even happened Ace couldn't find it in him to be upset with himself.

_Maybe it would be easier if I fully trusted someone on this ship. Marco knows about the blindness- no I can't, I'm still_ his  _son, they'll kick me out the moment they find out. I'll just enjoy what I can while I can._ He nodded his head in agreement with himself

* * *

_**/+6 days/** _

* * *

Ace was back in the crow's nest. By this point people were figuring out that's where he hid. Though like Marco had said hardly anyone went up there but him, and now Ace. Speaking of the older pirate he could feel the Commander's presence get stronger as he climbed. Honestly, Ace wasn't sure what to do with the first mate's almost daily visits. They had started after that first talk. Marco had skipped the day after that initial conversation but then the next day he was back complaining about Thatch's latest pity session on his love life. Marco had come up every other day since, and their conversations hadn't gotten overly personal.

While Ace had told himself that he wouldn't grow close to the phoenix, or anyone on this ship, he couldn't help but to start to like these little sessions.

"Hey Marco." He said once he heard footsteps land on the bottom of the nest.

"How'd you know?" Marco asked teasingly.

Ace  _really tried_ to say something along the lines of 'you're the only other person crazy enough to come up here' but ended up saying "I felt your presence climb up."

There was a couple of second of silence before Ace fully understood what he said.

"Uh... I mean-"

"Its fine, yoi." He could feel Marco waving off his comment.

"But-"

"It's your observation haki."

The teen frowned. "You keep mentioning haki. What is it, exactly?"

He silently prayed that it wasn't a stupid question.

"Its not common, the further you get into the New World the more you encounter it." Marco answered. "Few people learn to master it, but a lot can use it to some extent, yoi. As I understand it everyone has it, they just can use it."

If Marco was willing to explain Ace was going to take advantage of it. Haki could be very useful to him so he wanted to know about it. He'd never thought about his ability to sense people or why he could. All he knew was that he could after one day Luffy let go of his hand and wandered off and he couldn't find his younger brother.

He shook his head from that memory. "So, observation haki?"

"Is the ability to sense living beings and their movements."

That sounded a lot like what he could do, did he really already have haki? "Are their more? Haki types I mean?"

"There's two more types. Armament and Conquer, yoi. The first one uses your spirit to create armor and the other is used to dominate the wills of your foes."

Ace nodded but he really didn't understand it.

"What's your range for your observation?"

"A hundred feet, roughly, and only if the person is alone."

Beside him Marco shifted. "And I take it that's why you get overwhelmed by crowds?"

He only nodded, unsure of why he was once again being liberal with his information.

"Haki can be trained you know, yoi."

Ace perked up. "How?"

"Practice mostly." Marco replied.

That had him frowning. He wasn't even sure of what it was and he didn't have a way to find out about it... Well he could ask but really Marco was the only Whitebeard he had spent any time with or could stand for a long period of time.

"I could help. Give you pointers, yoi. Haki is hard to explain without visuals."

Ace cringed, his stubbornness flaring. "I can figured it out for myself."

He wondered if Marco was raising his hands in mock surrender, from the sudden movement he heard and felt.

After that they just spent several minutes in silence, and Marco left to finish so of his paperwork, leaving him to scowl towards the blurry blue of they sky.

Ace returned from dinner which had fixed his mood. It had been amusing as Thatch was in a bird-themed-insult spree, which had ticked Marco off and the pompadour (whatever that was, some sort of hairstyle he guessed) had been insulted. That had lead to another round of playful bickering which had some how been won by Izou. Haruta and himself had been too busy laughing their asses off to join in.

He flopped on his bed thinking through the events of the day. It had been pretty wild to learn that Marco was actually a Phoenix, but his smile fell when he remembered the Haki conversation.

How would he be able to improve his haki? Ace assumed Marco didn't think that he could do it alone. Well, if there was one thing he liked was a challenge (also proving people wrong about him), he'd manage it.

The rest of the night had him thinking of how he was going to train himself. He'd start with what sounded easiest first, remember his training days in the mountains. After some minutes of deliberation he decided that he would work on his ability to not be overwhelmed by crowds. That just sounded like endurance training.

With some form of a plan in mind he nodded.  _I'll start tomorrow._

When morning came Ace was one of the first into the galley, and his stomach growled as his nose was assaulted by the smell of cooking meat.

"You're up early." Someone commented, but Ace wasn't sure of their name or who they were.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just rested."

"That's good."

Ace nodded and moved to his usual table, which was empty for the moment. Once he was settled in his usual spot he let his thoughts drift, noting the seven presences with him in the dining hall.

Eventually he was started by Haruta's sudden appearance. They had evidently greeted everyone else before joining him at the table.

"You actually beat me to breakfast?" They laughed. "Are you starving or something?"

"No, just woke up early." It wasn't exactly a lie.

"Hmm." They hummed. "I wonder what Thatch made for breakfast."

"Whatever it is I'm sure it'll be good." Ace shrugged.

"That the truth!" Haruta laughed again.

Ace liked the Commander, they were always laughing and having a good time a good time, probably always smiling. In a way they reminded him of Luffy. He was also sure that if there was a prank he needed help with they were the person to got to. They were also really easy to get along with.  
"It really is too early to be this energetic Haruta."

Ace blinked at at Izou's sudden presence, had he been so distracted that he hadn't been using his haki? Even though he was supposed to be training it. He sighed, this was going to take a while.

"You're just old." Haruta shot back.

Izou huffed and sat down. "Even Ace is up this early? What is happening?"

Ace chuckled at the suspicious tone, he'd be worried if he was Izou too. "Nothing."

"Right..."

"Oh come on! I already pulled my weekly prank! Did you not see Namur?" Haruta tried to defend themselves.

Ace tuned out the banter and focused more sensing the people around him. The number was growing quickly and he was already starting to get overwhelmed by the number. Though was able to sense Marco's presence as he entered.

"Morning Marco!" Izou greeted.

"Good morning." Marco replied taking his usual seat next to Ace.

Just was he was about to reply, Ace heard a door open and the smell of food wafted out. It smelled amazing and it was probably fresh out of the oven. His mouth started to water just thinking about the food, and he wondered why he didn't come to the earlier breakfast shifts more often. But the noise quickly picked up and he remembered why.

Several minutes after the food had been served Thatch joined them. Ace was halfway through his second plate by that time.

"Morning everyone!" Thatch greeted cheerfully.

Everyone at the table returned the greeting with a 'morning' of their own, Ace's was behind a few seconds as he had to finish chewing and swallowing.

"Seriously, I've seen some big eaters in my time, but none of them even touch your level." Thatch said, and Ace could guess he had an amused look.

"He's a growing pirate, he needs his strength." Izou joked.

Ace tried to hide a pout. "I'm not that young!"

"You're the youngest of the crew." Haruta countered.

He decided to ignore the other. "If you think the amount I eat, you should see Luffy."

"Luffy?"

Ace blinked.  _Shit, they don't know about him, what do I say? I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them the truth, not like they would go after him, but if they misunderstand then when they find out about_ him  _then, they might._ He shook his head, he doubted it.

"Luffy is my younger brother."

"Whoa! You have a younger brother? Why isn't he with you?" Haruta rambled excitedly.

"Yeah, he's back on our home island, he wasn't old enough to set off yet." Ace raised his hands, trying to calm the other down.

"What's he like?"

"He's crazy, followed me around like a puppy." Ace replied.

His mood was always better whenever he thought or talked about Luffy, he missed his brother a lot. So he figured that this was an okay topic to delve into for the moment.

By the time breakfast was finished the entire table was laughing at some of the stories Ace had told them about Luffy. He knew that he'd have to deal with the other's wrath and telling such embarrassing stories but it was worth it.

He finished his fourth plate and told the others he would see them later. Right now he needed to find the best spot to train his haki. Ace wasn't sure if he could use the crow's nest for this, maybe when he was working on range. Running through his mental map of the ship he had, he tried to find the best place on the ship to practice, a place that would be out of the way but near enough that he could tell people are around.

The only place he could think of was an entrance to the ship, he could sit in the shade the building provided, the only problem was that it was fairly close to Whitbeard's chair, and he was sure that someone would think he was back to his old habit of trying to kill the captain, or worse the old man himself would notice.

Still, he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to improve his haki. On his way to the spot he made sure to stay out of the main hallways, wanting to avoid any questions.

* * *

_**/ +2 weeks /** _

* * *

Ace had snuck up to the crow's nest, he was exhausted from using his haki for the better part of the morning. In the two weeks he had been practicing he'd noticed that the how the forms were, just a solid mass of white were starting to shit and take a more humanoid form. He wondered if that's what everyone else saw when they used it.

He was glad that the confusion of him being on deck with everyone had died down. A lot of people had asked him what he was doing. He realized that he probably should spend more time with the crew he was apart of and more than just a few minutes. That'd be his next goal after improving his observation haki.

He felt a presence start to climb up the rigging. Closing his eyes he concentrated on it, it'd been awhile since he had the opportunity to focus on just a single being. Ace gasped in shock, the presence was Marco, but the form was no longer a generic humanoid shape. It was almost like an outline of the person. He focused more as the older pirate made his way closer. It wasn't defined, but it was a lot more than what he could make out with his eyes.

_What the hell is wrong with the top of his head? Is that his hair?_ Ace chuckled.  _Holy shit, I could kind of make out that it looked weird but this is ridiculous._

Marco landed next to him causing Ace to lose his focus, which was already waning with his laughter at Marco's apparent haki form.

"What has you in such a good mood, yoi?"

Ace shrugged. "I just had a funny thought."

"Alright." Marco replied, and Ace could almost feel the skeptical look that was sure to accompany that statement.

A breeze kicked up, and Ace frowned it wasn't at all like the peaceful winds he was used to, it was harsher. There was another breeze only seconds after the first one died out. A storm was coming.

"I came to tell you the navigators said we're heading into a storm too big to avoid, yoi." Marco explained.

Ace nodded, he thought it was strange that the New World was being so peaceful. Thunder sounded in the distance and he was surprised.  
"How fast is it moving?"

"They're saying we'll meet it in an hour, maybe less."

Ace turned his head to the direction that the wind was coming from. "What do you guys do incase of a storm?"

"Like everyone else does. Only the commanders are allowed to be on deck during particularly bad storms, yoi."

"A safety thing?" Ace asked.

"Its more like experience, but yes."

Ace nodded, he'd never been much help in storms on his own ship, later he'd been able to at least pull down the sails, but many times he had nearly been swept into the ocean by a large wave.

"If I were you, I'd get inside before everyone else starts rushing in."

He thought about disagreeing. "Won't you need everyone's help if it's not that bad?"

"From the look of the clouds, it'll be pretty bad, yoi. The ship might even take some damage."

The breeze kicked up with a rather strong gust, and Ace had to agree with the older commander, as he couldn't tell anything about the storm himself.

Marco settled down next to him, and took a deep breath. Ace wondered if the older male disliked storms, or if was getting a breather. He shook his head, the other didn't seem like he was in the mood for conversation.

He was proven correct when Marco quickly bid him a farewell. Ace wasn't in a hurry to make it back to his quarters, the storm still felt and sounded far off. When it was closer he'd go in, if he went now he would just be in his room bored out of his mind while everyone else was enjoying themselves, just because he couldn't see how close the storm was didn't mean he had to panic.

He paused, Marco had come to tell him of the storm. It'd would've been a few more minutes, but he could tell the storm was coming from how the wind had picked up. Still Marco had taken into account that he wouldn't be able to see the thunder clouds, it was something his old first mate had did. The older pirate wasn't a bad guy, he knew that from a while back, but he also wasn't sure how much of a  _good_ guy he was.

Ace shook his head, the wind was constant now and the thunder was growing louder.

"They misjudged the speed I guess." He muttered to himself

The fire user let out a sigh and walked over to the edge where the ropes were tied. Easily he climbed down, using his fire to help him find each cross section in the rope, slipping would cause him a lot more pain than he'd like and more than likely he'd end up in the ocean. Not a pleasant thought, and the sea was going to be choppy from the incoming storm.

He reached the ground, and next to the rigging a few pirates were mentioning how bad the storm looked, and how fast it was moving. Ace wondered what it did look like. Were the clouds low hanging dark enough to nearly be black? Could rain be seen pounding the ocean below. He squinted in the direction he thought the storm was coming from but could only make out the blue of the sea and the dark clouds above.

There was a loud rumble of thunder, and Ace decided that he should move indoors before the storm actually hit.

It was a shame his room wasn't further inside of the ship.

By the time he reached his room, he felt the boat pitch with the waves more and more frequently. His stomach was uneasy with the movement, this would probably be the biggest storm he'd ever been in.

He slipped into his room, walking to his bed and flopping down. He'd be bored while this storm passed, but he hoped that the speed it was moving would indicate that'd it be short lived.

Honestly, he should've figured it was a long based storm.

The Moby pitched wildly with the waves. Ace could hear the rain and thunder pelt down on the ship relentlessly. At one point he was pressed against the wall as the Moby tilted dangerously thanks to a wave, and he was thrown from his bed when she righted herself too quickly.

He laid on the floor and groaned, but quickly climbed back onto his bed. Outside of his room he could make out the sounds of the Commanders rushing around trying to keep the ship upright.

Another wave crashed into the ship, and this time it was side nearest to Ace's quarters. His heart skipped at heard the creaking of the wood, wondering if it would give way.

It was times like this that he really wished he could see. Easily he could imagine the storm and how severe it could get. It probably had winds strong enough to blow seven year old Luffy away. Lightning would flash and illuminate the ship as well as the sky. The water would be churning, making the white seafoam visible.

A loud crash of thunder caught him off guard and he jumped a little. He supposed he could look of his window to watch for the lightning, the light was something he could still see, but it wouldn't be the same as he was unable to make out the striking shapes of the blots.

The storm lasted an hour at least, and Ace ended up on the floor several more times thanks to the ship's wild movements.

When the ship finally started sailing smooth he let out another soft groan, this time out of relief. He pushed himself off the floor, three times hitting the ground was enough.

The fire user waited until he heard other voices that didn't belong to the commanders before walking out on deck. Right outside of his door he stubbed his toe, on what he guessed to be a broken part of the ship.

"Shit. Ow."  _How bad is the Moby damaged?_

Ace searched around for Marco's presence, finding it among the mass of other life forces. All he wanted to ask was about the storm and the damage.

_Totally not worried about him..._ He didn't sound convincing to himself.  _I mean it was a big storm, and he makes a good conversation partner it'd suck for him to be in the infirmary._

He followed the sound of the crowd more than the feel of it. Ace heard muttering and easily picked out the words 'damage' 'ship' and 'repairs'.  _Could there be heavy damage? The Moby is a big ship... Is it serious?_

He had a brief moment of hesitation as he decided about whether or not he wanted to try and wade through the crowd to ask Marco. Someone brushed against him and he just figured that he stay out for the time being. Navigating the crowd would be hard and he didn't feel like using his haki. Though he thought he could manage to get through with what little eye sight he had.

He shook his head.  _Not worth the risk._

The commotion quickly died down and many of the crew started to go and clean up the ship. Ace stood still, unsure if he should help. What could he even do?  
"Ace!" The voice belonged to Izou.

"Yeah?" He turned in the direction he was being addressed from.

"Come here and help me move some of this railing that broke off."

He really couldn't say and it wouldn't be that hard of a task . "Sure."

Quickly, he made his way to where he felt Izou's presence.

They walked a few feet before Izou stopped.

"Here. We're taking this below deck. Its still usable for scrap."

Ace could barely make out the edges of the railing, but he could tell that it was pretty large.

"That storm was rough." He commented.

"Yeah, there has been worse. We've been through some pretty bad ones. The waves were just massive this time, and the railing was getting old."

"Ah." Ace was struck by how much experience this crew had over him. It was... Impressive.

Barely he could make out Izou bending down. He followed suit and wrapped his hands around the wood. With a grunt he and Izou managed to lift it up.

"Are we going to be able to make repairs at sea?"

"For the most part, yes. We'll have to get more materials after we finish." Izou explained, helping Ace maneuver through the ship.

"Really, there was that much damage?"

"Well, no. We used quite a bit of it repairing the damages  _someone's_ attempts at Pop's life caused." Izou was probably smirking. "We're running low anyway, and none of the islands we've been at have had the right materials."

Ace flushed slightly. "Sorry."

"Its fine, it was amusing for us." He chuckled.

The fire user wasn't sure why he didn't take offense at the statement, but instead he chuckled along with Izou. Maybe it was because it was said in an insulting manner and it was Izou after all.

* * *

_**/+3 weeks/** _

* * *

Izou hid a mischievous smile behind his hand as he watched Marco climb down from the crow's nest. He had noticed the first division commander going up to the uppermost platform awhile back. It had confused him at first until he saw Ace climb down.

The two had gotten close after their mission, and Izou wanted to know how close. The latest development ahd Ace and Marco walking into dinner together laughing. He had meant to ask Ace several weeks ago, but hadn't since the teen had been relatively open and they had started a good banter. There hadn't been a chance after that, but now he'd figure it out starting with Marco. Izou didn't like not knowing the gossip.

"Marco! Hey!" Izou greeted cheerfully when the other commander came close.

"Hello, Izou." Marco nodded.

"What are you up to?" He smiled  
"I was taking a break from paperwork, yoi."

"Is any getting done?" The commander asked slyly.

Marco looked confused. "Of course."

"Its just... you're taking a lot more breaks than you used too."  
"Is there a point, yoi?" There was a glint of suspicion in Marco's eyes.

"Oh its just your breaks keep taking you up top... Where Ace has taken residency."

"So? I happen to like it up there, yoi."

Izou frowned. "Then how come you hardly went up there before?"

Marco sighed. "Your point, Izou?"

"Is something happening between you and Ace?"He shrugged. "

"What?" Marco exclaimed. "Not at all, yoi."

Izou hummed. "From where I'm standing, that's not the case."

Marco's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Oh? Then what is the case, yoi?"

"That you have a soft spot for him."

The older male shifted. "He's a brother, yoi. Of course I have a soft spot for him."

"Thats not what I mean Marco, and you know it."

Izou was annoyed that Marco wasn't admitting that he liked Ace more than just "a brother". There had been several trouble making recruits in the past, and Marco had helped his fair share of them adjust, but that was it.  _Does he not realize it himself?_

That was completely possible, as he'd never seen Marco infatuated with anyone or known him to spend the night at a brothel.

Izou sighed once more. He'd have his work cut out for him if that was the case.

"Anything else, yoi?"

"Nope." Izou grinned.

He could tell that Marco was surprised by him suddenly dropping the conversation.

"See you, Izou."

"Later." He waved.

The conversation hadn't gone as he thought. Marco was either being secretive or he didn't know how close he actually was with fire user. Now, he just needed to gauge Ace's feelings on Marco. Though he suspected they'd be similar to the Phoenix's. After all the teen had already adjusted to the first division commander, when everyone else was just getting past his elusive nature.

Glancing upwards he could make out Ace leaning over the edge of the crow's nest. Izou hesitated at the thought of climbing up. It might be better to wait until Ace wasn't in his safety space.

Izou laughed, this was an improvement from having to play hide and seek with the other.

* * *

  
Ace was resting against a wall enjoying the warmth of the sun. He'd come down from the crow's nest early, only because he felt like stretching out. His eyes closed as he let out a sigh of contentment.

Just as he was drifting off he heard footsteps approaching. He tensed up slightly, before relaxing once more.

"Ace? Oh, you're asleep."

He cracked an eye open to glare at the pink blur that was Izou.

"I was about to be. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see how you're adjusting."

Ace shrugged. "Alright."

"We're going to be landing shortly, and I wanted to know if you wanted to join some commanders and I at the tavern?"

He looked up thinking. "Sure, why not? Who's all going?"

"Thatch, Haruta, Jozu, Jiru, maybe Marco, and myself."

The teen vaguely remembered the last time he'd drunk with Thatch, and wasn't keen to repeat the experience. But he had hope that the chef wouldn't lose his senses so freely in public.

"Why only a maybe for Marco?" Truthfully he'd feel a little better with Marco with them.

"Haven't asked him yet." Izou replied.

The tone had Ace guessing there was a smirk on the older pirate's face. Which he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Ah. Is he working?"

"I'll ask him when we land. We won't be going until later tonight." Izou sat down next to him.

Ace felt proud that didn't make a visible reaction to the sudden closeness. "Have you been on this island before?"

"Yeah, its one of the best places to resupply. It's local delicacy is pretty tasty."

He perked up at the mention of food. "What is it?"

"Its a bowl filled with noodles and topped with whatever you want, normally a meat and vegetable."

That sounded familiar. "Ramen?"

"Yeah! How did you know?" Izou sounded surprised.

Ace figured that ramen wasn't a common dish on the Grand Line. Everytime he tried ordering it, he got something close, but it wasn't ramen. He was excited to try it again after not having it for such a long time. "It sounded like ramen."

"But I've hardly ever come across it." Izou replied.

"It was common back on the island I'm from."

"Ah. East Blue is filled with strange things, they even have a floating restaurant!"

Ace chuckled. "The Baratie? Have you ever been?"

"Sadly, no. What about you?"

"Once, before I left East Blue. The Sous chef had a lot of spunk in him."

Izou laughed. "Next time we go to the East, I'll make sure to go."

"Do you leave the New World?"

"Sometimes, mostly for vacations, other times there's something we need from one of the seas."

Ace was once again surprised by the strength of this crew. To freely leave this sea and their territories. How much power does the Whitebeard name have?

Izou stayed with him for a little while longer before claiming that he had things to do. The commander lift with a reminder that they'd hit land in a few hours, and that it'd still be a few hours before they went to the tavern.

Ace sighed, and closed his eyes returning to his blissful napping state.

A few hours later he was awoken by the usual rush that accompanied landfall. He blinked lazily, letting the last of the sleep dissipate. The warmth from the late afternoon sun still covered him and he didn't want to get up. Ace knew that he had too just to make sure that he wasn't in the way.

Slowly he stood up and stretched, letting out a satisfying moan as his joints cracked.

He ran a hand through his hair messing it up. There were several hours he still had to kill before he went out with the others. Ace let out a yawn, and decided that he'd take a shower before seeing if he could talk one of the kitchen aids into giving him something to eat.

Ace ended up having to take an abandoned sandwich, and he quickly retreated into his room to find clothes that were better suited for taverns. Most of the locals probably wouldn't appreciate his bare chest, but then again if this was a popular place to resupply they were probably used to stranger things.

Still he didn't leave his room until there was a knock on the door. "C'mon Ace we're heading out."

"Be right out." He called back.

There was a moment that he hesitated at the door, wondering if Marco was going to come along. He'd have to ask Izou.

"Yo." He called as he left.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Izou pulled gently on his arm. "Marco is joining us, as a chaperon."

Secretly he was thrilled with the news. "Doesn't he drink?"

"He does, but its difficult for him to get drunk."

"Is he that tolerant to booze?"

"Well, he's not a bad drinking partner, but his ability doesn't work well with alcohol."

Ace made a noise of confusion.

"He regenerates."

"Oh." That had to suck.

"Maybe, if we're lucky, he'll come again at the end of the week."

"We're staying here for a full week?"

"Yeah. Just to rest and restock."

He followed Izou, their conversation dropped after that. They were heading towards the main part of the ship. Distantly he could feel a group of strong life forces and he guessed that's where everyone was.

"There you are Izou!" Haruta called out, sounding exasperated.

"Sorry, sorry. I had to go find Ace."

He made a face.

"Eh? Ace is coming with us? Nice!" Haruta cheered.

"Glad to see you getting out and about." Jozu greeted.

"Heya Ace."

"Hey everyone."

"Okay, let's go!" Izou clapped his hands together.

The others made noises of agreement and set off into town. Marco trailed behind, and Ace slowed his pace to walk with him.

"So why are you coming along? Izou made it sound like you don't join them often." He said slowly.

"I don't. This time, I just felt like joining."

Ace shrugged. He could accept that, sometimes it was nice to unwind. However this time he'd be a little more careful to not drink so much. It'd be easier since they had to pay for their drinks this time, probably.

"Why are you coming along, yoi?"

"Izou invited me, and it didn't sound like a bad idea." He replied.

Marco stayed quiet, and Ace didn't need to push for any more conversation, enjoying the briskness that the night provided. The air was damp, and he guessed that they just missed a rain shower. As they walked through the town he got the feeling that it was peaceful despite the pirates that surely came through here. Maybe that's why, people knew how valuable this island could be. As he walked, the trio in front's conversation muted by distance, he remembered what Izou had told him.

"Hey Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know any of the ramen places?"

"Already know about the food,yoi?" Marco chuckled. "I do."

"I want to go so bad." He whined slightly.

"Noodles with things mixed in excite you that much, yoi?"

"Its really good!" He defended. "I just want to see if they taste like the place back in East Blue."

"I'll take you to one tomorrow for lunch, yoi. If you'd like."

"Seriously? That's great!" He smiled.

Marco made a noise that sounded like a dismissal followed by a "Its not a problem."

Eventually they were told to hurry up as the tavern was visible and it was starting to get crowded. Ace tightened his lips, he had hoped this would be an out of the way tavern that only pirates went into; not the town's local favorite.

As he expected it was loud and the noise hurt his ears as he tried to adjust to that many people at once. Marco put a comforting hand on his arm.

"You alright, yoi?"

"I'll be fine in a couple of minutes." He replied, hoping it would be the case.

Ace allowed Marco to lead him as they followed the others to a table in what appeared to be a corner of the room, it was in a crescent shape he realized as he slid in. He was pushed into the corner with Haruta on one side and Marco on the other. Izou was next to Haruta and Thatch next to Izou. Jozu sat next on the other side of Marco.

They ordered the first round, and the commanders caught up with each other talking about their individual tasks that they needed to do before they set sail. Ace leaned back into the hard wood listening to the conversation nursing his drink. Most of the conversation went over his head anyway because they were using phrases and terms he'd never heard before. It was probably code or something.

The night progressed slowly, and their conversations died down every now and then until someone came up with a new topic. At some point, it was realized that Jozu was getting bumped because of his size, and Ace offered to switch with him. He wasn't exactly fond of sitting out in the open, but he could live with it.

The teen was only on his fourth drink by the time the Tavern started to empty. Everyone else was fairly intoxicated, he seriously wondered how they would be able to function tomorrow.

He laughed as another embarrassing story was told. The group fell silent once more, and Thatch set his drink down loudly. Or Ace assumed it was Thatch as he was the one to speak next.

"Say, Acey?"

He winced at the nickname, and made a mental note that Thatch was a very annoying drinking partner and he should never drink with him alone.

"Yes?" The teen sighed, wondering what was going to happen.

"What'sh up with your arm tattoo?"

Ace guessed that Thatch wasn't completely drunk yet, his words weren't as slurred as last time. Still he winced at the topic choice.

"Did shomone misspell your name?"

"Ah, no." He replied, hoping that this would be the end of it. "It was deliberate."

"Why?" Haruta joined in.

Ace swallowed. Thinking hard about what he should do. Technically the purpose of the tattoo was for Sabo to be remembered, and the more that people knew about him the more the longer it would take for him to completely die. But it was still a private thing. He closed his eyes, these people claimed they were family now, and he shouldn't have secrets from them. It was just like Marco. The older pirate was there too and sober so he'd for sure remember this.

"Its a tribute, to my brother."

"Your brother?" Haruta mumbled.

"Yeah, not by blood. He was killed when we were all still kids. This is just a reminder, so he can still be on the open sea."

"Oh." Thatch whispered. "Shorry."

Ace smiled slightly. "Its fine."

The table fell oddly quiet, and it made him nervous. He downed the rest of his drink before standing up.

"I'm tired."

Quickly he left the table, his fire flaring in front of him barely visible, as a guide so he didn't run into anything. The lie would be easily detected, even if the other pirates weren't fully sober more so considering he left right after that topic. He just couldn't stand the mood that was set.

As he reached the door he paused only for a moment to find the knob before opening it. Ace set out heading in the way that he knew they came from. Though they took several turns, and he hadn't really been paying attention. He slowed down as he realized he could get himself lost easily.

"Ace, wait up, yoi!" Marco called.

The older pirate easily caught up to him at his brisk walk. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, it just got awkward. I knew it wasn't a thing to bring up when everyone is having a good time." Ace pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"Thatch was the one that asked, yoi."

"But I'm the one who told them."

Marco was silent for a second before speaking again. "What was his name, yoi?"

Ace tilted his head. "Sabo."

He could picture Marco nodding, from the slight bounce of the blond hair.

"How'd he die?"

"It was... I guess he set sail, only there was a celestial dragon, and they shot at him. Hit his ship." Ace replied, the story was condensed, but he'd never heard the full thing himself.

"Just for setting sail, yoi." Marco's voice sounded strange.

"He was only ten." The teen found himself saying.

"A kid."

Ace stopped and wondered why he was telling the older pirate this, for some reason he wanted to but another part of him felt like he owed an explanation. Talking about Sabo always made him upset, sometimes it was rage other times he wanted to cry until his voice was raw.

"Its okay. Bad things happen, yoi. Thatch should no better than to pry so unashamedly into someones life. You didn't ruin the mood, they were just stunned was all." Marco set a hand on his shoulder.

Ace couldn't find the words to say.

"I doubt you'll want to go back, and Thatch will apologize in the morning, I'm sure. So let me walk you back, yoi."

He nodded and followed after the first division commander, his emotions still unsteady. Ace was sure that he'd have the dream again where he watched Sabo die and then the other brother came back and blamed him. It was surprising how easily he caved and told everyone about his brother.

The walk back to the ship was in silence. Though he was sure that he was walking closer to Marco that was probably necessary.

* * *

"Sir! I have news!" A man dressed in heavy leathers and furs called as he climbed the stairs.

"Its better be good." A gruff man said, pulling the cigar out of his mouth.

"It it, sir!" The man straightened. "We've received informations on the whereabouts of the Whitebeard ship!"

The gruff man, stood up, holding his cigar lightly in his hands, the shadow of the sun concealed his face. "And, where are they?"

"They've docked at Vlarerk Ait."

"For how long?"

The man in the leathers watched his commander carefully. The leader was a big man, easily reaching six feet, and was wide, a person could easily see the muscles hidden beneath the heavy coat.

"It seems like they're only staying for a week." He replied.

"We can make it there, barely. But we'll be able to pursue them should they leave before we arrive." He tapped his cigar and ash fell to the floor below. "Tell the helmsman to set a course towards Vlarerk, at the fastest possible speed."

"Yes, sir!" He turned to leave.

"One more question."

"Sir?"

"Anything more on what that doctor told us?"

"No, sir, its neither been confirmed or denied."

"And for the Whitebeard's?"

"None have been reported to be overly close, save for Marco the Phoenix."

"We'll have to go for Portgas when that man is not around. Should be easy considering that has a lot of responsibilities."

"I agree, sir."

"Go!" He ordered "I have to make a phone call."

The man in leathers left the room in a rush.

The man, who was clearly in charge let out a low whistle as he stabbed the end of his cigar into the ashtray. Reaching for the non-descript snail phone. He dialed in the number and waited as it rang several times.

The call was answered. "Do you have  _any_ idea what time it is, someone better be dying!"

"Now, now Dr. Conner, I thought the idea was to keep him alive."

"Oh, its you, sorry." The doctor's tone softened slightly.

"Whatever. I would like to inform you that you best start to make travel preparations to the rendezvous point. We should have soon."

"You found him?"

"We know his location."

"That great, man, you guys are as good as they said you were."

"Of course. I hate liars so I don't make it a habit to lie." His face twisted into a sneer.

"That makes sense." The doctor's voice had a little bit of a tremor to it.

"Now, how intact do you want him when you finally show up?"

"Well, I'd rather not get my hands dirty, but so long as he's conscious and able to hold a conversation. I don't care. I can't touch his brat of a brother, but I can deal with only getting one."

"Whatever you say." The man hung up the snail, and a smirk stretched across his lips.

"Whatever you say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAT SESSION
> 
> As a side note I have some more information on the Whitebeard Pirates, that I have if anyone is interested. Just their schedule.
> 
> 1)I have this thing where Ace is the type of person who will only open up to people if they offer something about themselves first, which is what I'm trying to show, I don't know if I am, but that's how I want it to be seen as.
> 
> 2) Oh look, more drunken Thatch, can I say its because I really like drunk!Thatch? Also because I think that its easier for people to ask more questions like that when they're not sober
> 
> 3) Yay, I'm really glad that my plot twist was really well liked!
> 
> 4)And because I've gotten some questions about it, let me explain briefly some of the motivation for Dr. Conner. Okay so way back, when Bluejam and his pirates were around, they went to Dr. Conner, who was a young, struggling, and poor doctor to help them out. Keep their injuries confidential and treat them, kind of like a ship's doctor except they had to pay them. Sometimes they would ask for medication for illegal purposes and would pay handsomely for it. So Dr. Conner was a dirty doctor at that time, and he made himself rather wealthy from the pirates. Only then Gray Terminal burned down and that left him w/o a source of income, and word(rumors) got to him that it was the three brothers that were to blame. Only one of them was dead, and he didn't know who the other two were, he learned their faces quickly, but never made the connection about Ace being Mason or vise versa. He can't lay a hand on Luffy because of the mountain bandits so he's going to take it out on Ace because he's out of their protection. Hope that clears any confusion up~!


	8. Chapter 7: Ambushed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace comes to terms with things, and tells one of his secrets, and then he meets some less than friendly people. Marco is worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shows up two months late with starbucks.* I don't even like coffee, but I hope you guys like this chapter. I've been working on this chapter for awhile but I just now finished typing it, so I mean its not like I forgot about this story. But Oh my gosh? You guys are so nice in giving feedback?? Like wow, I'm glad you guys like it all. And this goes for the people who follow the link from Tumblr. It means a lot!  
> Now I suppose you don't want me to ramble too much, so see you at the bottom!!  
> DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

* * *

 

The end of the week came quickly for Ace. As Marco had promised the next afternoon they had enjoyed a lunch of ramen; which surprisingly had tasted very similar to what was back home. It was the only time that he had with Marco for the rest of the week, the commanders busy stocking the ship or making repairs. He didn't wander far from the ship, not wanting to get lost. Though he found a spot near the shore. It was a group of trees, and in the middle of the trees there was a small clearing with a bench in the middle of it. For the shore leave, that's where he spent most of his week. He liked the privacy, and even though he was getting used to everyone and spending more time with them he still didn't feel comfortable spending more than a couple hours with them. Especially since he wanted to be able to explore his thoughts alone.

After the first night, he had been thinking a lot more than usual. Marco had been accepting of his blindness, and the others that heard the story of his brothers didn't seem to mind having family outside of the crew. It threw him for a loop.

Two of his secrets had already been discovered, by accident. He only really had one more left to tell.

Which is why he was currently pacing around the clearing. He didn't know what he was going to do about it.

Ace's mind wandered to what had really prompted the idea. One of the commanders, likely Namur he was one of the more soft spoken, and been talking to Whitebeard. As usual, the nicknames came up Pops and son. While the old man had called him son to his face already, he had withheld saying the 'p' word to his face.

It had been a long time since Ace had entertained the idea of having a father. He wasn't even sure if he was going to be a good son, or if he really wanted to have a man to say the 'p' word to. Though, he supposed it wouldn't be too bad to say that to Whitebeard, everyone else seemed to like calling him that and accepting what it meant.

Ace sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Whitebeard had accepted him as a son already and to everyone else he was already a brother. It should be a simple thing, but there was more than a few things holding him back. One, of course was his desire to not have a father. The other was the blood flowing through his veins. People can change, lineage can't.

Ace puffed out his cheeks and let a long stream of air escape.

_What can I do? Go and tell him? Say I'm the son of his dead rival, but please still take me as a son?_

He laughed at the audacity of it. Though, telling Whitebeard was probably the best way to handle it. The other times his secrets had been found out by mistake, but they were easy things to understand keeping a secret. If it was found out that he was the son of Roger, he imagined that people's reactions would be less than accepting. It was one of those things you should tell someone up front.

_If I tell him now, at least I won't be thrown overboard, I can leave right away if he gets angry with me._

Ace nodded to himself. It was a sound plan, at least this way he would be able to get on another ship and continue his journey. His heart hurt at the thought however. He stamped down with one foot as if that sealed the deal.

"Tonight." He muttered aloud.

He would tell Whitebeard about his father tonight, the others would be too busy getting drunk to question him or Whitebeard if the meeting went south, and it would give him a decent enough lead should someone decide to take revenge. It would be easy to cover up that he was going to talk to Whitebeard. Ace would slip out of the bar, and the others would likely assume that he was leaving before there was a disaster like the last time.

Now that he had a plan, nervousness settled into his stomach. He would be laying himself bare for the first time to people who weren't Luffy and Sabo, it really would make them family. Sure not everyone would know everything, but then again Sabo never knew that he was losing his vision. It balanced out. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, there were still a few hours before he would be able to implement his plan.

He noticed, after he calmed down, that there was also a sense of lightness with it. Like he was somehow freeing himself by confiding in someone else. Ace wondered how much longer that would last.

The air was cooling down indicating that it was getting close to evening, and that meant the Commanders would be finishing up their tasks for the day and the party would start. He stretched his arms above his head and started to walk back towards where he knew the ship was. That way they could find him easily, because he doubted he could find the tavern on his own.

* * *

 

Ace wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew that Marco was looking at him intensely. Well it was more like he could feel someone staring at him, and he was assuming that it was Marco.

He had run into the first division Commander on the way back to the ship and they had chatted for a few moments, the older pirate even going as far as to offer some of the candies he had bought earlier.

Ace shook his head, focus."Is something wrong?"

"That should be my line." Marco replied.

There was no tone inflection that Ace could use to decipher Marco's mood.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem tense... Did something happen?"

Ace blinked, surprised that Marco had picked up one that. It was true that the nervousness from earlier in the day hadn't left, and now that he was getting closer to the actual event it was starting to get worse.

"No." And it wasn't a lie, nothing had happened...yet.

"You sure?"

"Positive, I think I'm just ready to get back out to sea." He shrugged.

Marco didn't say anything, but Ace could picture that the older man was looking at him doubtfully. Thankfully he wasn't pressed any further.

The tavern was louder than last time, inside of just the island's patrons it was now packed with a large amount of pirates. From what Marco had told him, the crew was scattered throughout the city at different bars and taverns, so he guessed there was at least seventy people in the room.

Ace pressed close to the older male, just to make sure he wasn't going to trip over anyone. While he would've preferred to have used his haki and fire combination, he knew that it wasn't feasible. Someone was bound to notice the flame, and with so many strong presences (all of the commanders were in this tavern) he would've exhausted his haki and himself. He was grateful that it was Marco that he walked into, and it seemed like the first mate wasn't too bothered by his closeness, maybe knowing the reason made him more lenient towards Ace.

They walked towards the back of the tavern, he was guessing based on the direction and memory.

Apparently Izou was the first to notice them.

"You two are showing up together again?" He sounded coy.

Marco huffed. "I just happened to run into him."

"Sure." Izou didn't sound like he believed Marco's words.

Ace looked at where Marco was and where he figured Izou to be, wondering if he was missing something.

"Coming through!" Thatch spoke from behind them.

Marco pulled him to the side so that Thatch could pass by. He guess the chef was carrying something, he heard something slosh and hit the table. Maybe he had the drinks?

"First round on me!" Thatch laughed, shoving a mug into his hands.

He supposed the first mate got the same treatment since he heard Marco mumbling about something.

Ace moved so that he was sitting down, trying to stay out of the way of people passing by. He was sitting next to Izou on the outside, and Marco was leaning against something besides him. Thatch was apparently across from him, and Haruta was over to the side talking to Jiru about something.

He let out a breath, this could possibly be the last time he's treated so warmly by these people so he might as well make some good memories.

If anyone was surprised by his willingness to join in they didn't say anything, but he could tell that Marco was watching him again, probably still thinking there was something wrong.

"Report?" A voice ground through the snail.

"Sir! The Whitebeard Pirates are docked exactly where the informant said they would be. It seems they are setting sail tomorrow!"

The snail let out a long breath of air, mimicking the sound of someone smoking. "That's good. And the pirates themselves?"

"The Moby Dick seems to be watched only by a skeleton of a crew, the commanders and the bulk of the crew having gone for celebrations and partying."

"All of the commanders?"

"Yes, sir!"

The man chuckled. "They're making this too easy."

For a moment nothing was said, the scout not sure if he should reply to the comment. He wasn't entirely sure why he was sent to spy on the Whitebeards, but he didn't question his orders, he valued his life too much.

"And Whitebeard himself?"

"I haven't seen him since evening. I believe he's retired for the night."

"Have you seen Fire Fist?"

"He went with Marco the Phoenix to a tavern, the one the other commanders are frequenting."

"Good. Likely it means he's been drinking. This will be such an easy capture. Keep me updated, if you see Fire Fist call me immediately, and  _do not_ let him out of your sight."

The scout felt the air drop several degrees at the tone that left the snail phone. He swallowed, wondering why they wanted to pick a fight with Whitebeard of all people. They'd have a better chance if they were messing with Red Hair.

"Yes, sir." He whimpered.

The snail went to sleep with a click. With a long breath of relief, the scout returned his gaze towards the tavern he had seen several of the commanders enter over the last hour. He adjusted his position so that he was in a slightly more comfortable crouch. He had a feeling it would be a long wait.

Ace has made sure that he only had one drink, he wanted to be sober for the talk he was going to have. Thankfully everyone else was absorbed in their own merrymaking to notice what he was doing with his drink. Still he didn't fail to notice someone's gaze on him, the feeling pricked at the back of his neck. He assumed that it was Marco.

By the time he had finished the first mug everyone else was on either their fifth or sixth, maybe more if they were competing in the drinking competition (started by Thatch). He set the mug down and tapped on Izou's shoulder.

The older pirate hummed.

"I'm going to head out for the night, don't want to set sail with a hangover."

The only reason he was giving any explanation at all was so that Marco would know he left. The first mate had left to buy drinks and would probably be concerned if he left without an excuse

as well as other people.

 _Though they probably won't notice or care that you left. They might even be grateful since you ruined the mood last time._ The little voice in the back of his head said.

He shook his head to silence the thought and waited for Izou's reply.

"Alright, be sure to be careful on your way back."

Ace stood then and strolled confidently out of the bar. Or tried too, he stumbled over a table leg, but he didn't think anyone noticed.

Once he was outside he shivered at the cooler temperature, more out of reflex than feeling the chill.

After the initial shock of the temperature wore off he still felt the need to shiver due to a feeling the air was carrying.

_Probably making it up because of what I'm going to tell._

He took a deep breath and let his fire out in a light sheet to guide him. There were too many turns for him to count the steps too, so he had to find his way back using the landmarks he had found throughout the week.

He knew that he couldn't rely on that method too much, it was too obvious, but thanks to him getting lunch with Marco he was able to make a path. The ramen shop that they had ate at was on the way from the Tavern to the ship.

It was convenient, and he was grateful for it otherwise he wasn't sure that he would've been able to get back to the ship on his own.

The walk to the ship was quick and quiet and it gave him time to create all of the worse case scenarios he was dreading.

When he got to the harbor he paused, getting cold feet at the thought of divulging his secret.

He could wait until the next island, he reasoned. But then he would have to come up with a lie to tell Marco which is something that he didn't want to do, at all.

Ace took a deep breath, the odd feeling was still lingering.

He shook it off once more and climbed up into the boat.

The scout moved along with Portgas, noting with some pride that he was so far undetected. He supposed that was the reason he had been chosen for this, apparently, high priority mission.

He watched as Portgas hesitated walking onto the Moby Dick, but he saw as the other seemingly made up his mind as in the next second he was confidently strolling up to the ship.

The scout dialed the number he was given now that he was alone.

The boss answered. "Status?"

"The target has boarded the Moby Dick."

"Damn. Keep me informed." The phone was quickly hung up.

It was a busy time so the scout took no offense to the abrupt end to the conversation. There was only a short window of time before they had to make their move. He could only hope that that Portgas was in a place that wasn't filled with Whitebeard Pirates. Even if their boss didn't care about angering Whitebeard, and was planing to do anything to get their target, challenging Whitebeard directly like that was the quickest way to start a minor war.

A challenge so bold wouldn't be ignored, and they were already taking one of the pirate's son.

The scout swallowed at the thought and adjusted his stance. Wondering briefly about the fire that Portgas had used while he was walking. What was its purpose?

After confirming that Whitebeard was in his quarters, Ace slowly made his way towards them. He decided to take the longest way he could to the quarters, for no reason other than he wanted to stretch his legs a bit more.

Of course that was the only reason.

But eventually he found that he was in the hallway that lead to Whitebeard. He couldn't put it off any longer, without him outright stalling.

Ace pulled himself higher hoping that the false confidence would become real confidence.

Before he could change his mind he raised his arm and knocked.

"Come in." A booming yet gentle voice called.

Ace hesitated a second before pushing the door open. He could tell that the room was dimly lit, probably by a single lantern.

"Oh, Ace, how're you?"

"Fine... Actually... Am I interrupting anything?" He asked quietly, if Whitebeard was busy then it wouldn't be his fault that he couldn't talk tonight.

"No, you aren't." Whitebeard answered immediately. "Is everything alright?"

A surge of bitterness rose in him as he thought about blurting about how everything wasn't alright, and how he was going to lose his family (excluding his brothers and the bandits) after he just got them because of who his father was and how he was losing his sight because he was a cursed child.

Instead he kicked at the ground and mumbled. "I have something to tell you."

He could feel the concerned gaze he was receiving. "Okay. What is it?"

Ace fidgeted. "I don't know how to start."

He felt stupid for not better preparing himself for this. However he knew that there wasn't much to tell. It was only a few words, but they would be deciding his fate, three words and a name.

Whitebeard's gaze was still on him. He could almost picture the concern and confusion that would be swirling in his eyes. He would probably be tensed in the anticipation.

Ace twisted his hands around each other, as if he was winding himself up to speak. He hoped that he wasn't talking too long.

In the end this was more for himself that for Whitebeard. He couldn't call the man Pops without telling him exactly what kind of son he would be.

"It's about my biological father, who he was."

Whitebeard grunted and Ace took that as a sign to continue.

"My father was Gol D. Roger." He said the words slowly, so that they wouldn't be misheard.

Minutes ticked by as he waited for his sentence. He was worried that it was going to lead up to an explosion of anger.

And then there was laughter, and it didn't sound like it was a threatening laugh either.

"Really? What a surprise! So that's how it is?"

There was a pause as it sounded like something was being drunk, and the the smell of sake hit Ace's nose. How did he not notice before?

"You don't really act like Roger though..."

He tensed, then he figured that he might as well bring the axe down on himself.

"Weren't you two enemies? You're not gonna throw me out?" His voice came out steady.

"When you said that you had something important to talk about I thought it would be bigger than this..."

Ace raised his head in shock, how was this not big? He could barely make out the man's face, but he knew that the old man was smiling.

"It doesn't matter who your parents were. Everyone is a child of the sea." Then Whitebeard laughed.

Ace was shocked, to put it mildly. Ace had thought being  _his_ son would take away any chance of him having his own life, his own legacy. A father of his own choosing.

He couldn't help it, he let out a breathy laugh. Pirates always did the unexpected.

He stayed talking with Whitebea- no - Pops for a while longer. Basic things about how he was doing and was he settled in and did he like the crew.

It was surreal.

It was nice feeling. Until he realized that despite having one burden lifted, he still had several more. His blindness was the biggest one.

He also realized that everything he had told the Whitebeard Pirates they had accepted in stride, not thinking any less or any more of him. But if he told them everything, would they still be okay?

Would things still be okay when Pops finds out that he was practically blind (and completely blind eventually), would Marco still be so nice after he found out his father's name?

Those thoughts didn't provide him with any comfort. So instead of heading to his room to rest he decided to head to the clearing, to clear his head and maybe wear himself out. He didn't want to be found pacing around the ship, that would raise too many questions.

Hopping down onto the dock he noticed that the feeling from before was still there. He shrugged thinking that it was just leftover nervousness.

The walk to the clearing was quick, he had the route nearly memorized by now.

Ace hoped that whatever the strange feeling was that it would go away soon.

* * *

 

The scout tapped at his leg impatiently, praying that Portgas would leave the ship. He did not want to inform the boss that their target was still on the ship.

A few minutes later he saw Portgs leave the ship and head into a nearby copse of trees.

He wasted no time in calling the boss, this would be the best place to capture the pirate.

"He's on the move, heading to a group of trees near where the Moby Dick is docked." Only when he finished did he realized he spoke out of turn.

He was just relieved that he wouldn't have to see the famous Whitebeards in action just yet.

"Head in that direction. There should be a squadron near there."

"Yes, sir!"

Ace wasn't sure what finally tipped him off that there was in fact something wrong.

but late is better that never when he raised his arms in a guard position as someone jumped out with their feet swinging down towards his skill.

He slid backwards from the force.

He heard whoever it was land a few feet in front of him. In just the moonlight he could barely make out his attackers form. When he was about to ask what was going on and twig snapped and suddenly he was surrounded.

There wasn't any doubt in his mind that these were hostiles, so he closed his eyes and focused on his haki. When he opened his eyes he wasn't relying on his sight to help him fight.

Ace shifted his weight and bent his knees into a ready position. "Care to explain why you're attacking me?"

"You have a pretty high bounty." Someone replied.

"Apparently you'll also be easier to capture than the others, as well." Another voice spoke.

Ace swallowed and bent his knees more. He didn't like this at all, but if he attacked first it could prove fatal.

"I'm a Devil's Fruit user, you think I'll be easy to beat." Taunting them was the best way to get them to attack him first.

"All users have the same weaknesses. Arrogance being one of them." The voice from before spoke, it sounded female. "And you have a major one of your own, right?"

Ace furrowed his brows, they couldn't know. There was no way they could know.

"What? Information on high values is high value." The second speaker said.

There must've been a singal because all of the sudden he was being rushed.

It was easy enough to take care of, he spread his arms and shot flames both ways.

But something clamped onto his wrist and he felt the fire pull back into him.

"So it's true, you can't see!"

Ace cursed for several reasons. One, because he was without his ability, two because when he let his flames go he lost track of two of the presences, and the third reason was because they knew.

The last part shocked him into stillness.  _How did they find out?_

There were only a few people that knew. It had to have been passed from one of them, but who? Luffy might've said something on accident, but not to any strangers, and especially if they were asking about him. Ace also doubted that either doctor would tell for their own moral sake. Marco? No... he had that much faith in him, it might be stupid but he didn't think that any of the Whitebeard pirates were like that. They were more the type to fight their own battles.

So who then? Was it a guess or a rumor. Wither way it wasn't good for him and he would need to do something about it.

He got distracted by his own thoughts and barely had time to dodge the foot aimed for his face. The seastone caused his movement to be slowed, and his attacker was able to adjust and swung around with their other foot and made solid

Ace felt his nose bend and start to bleed, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't broken.

Instead he swung his own foot upwards catching the person in the ribs. He heard a grunt and then spun to get out of the way of the person coming from behind him.

Ace was dizzy from that maneuver but he assumed it was partly due to the seastone around his wrist. The legrathy from the cuffs was being put off by the adrenaline for the time being. But from experience he knew that it wouldn't last long.

Ace started to notice that the others were starting to recover from the initial fire blast. He wiped the blood away from his nose tasting some that got into his mouth.

Another person stepped up and he grabbed their arm and flipped them into a group. A sword was drawn and he lifted his cuffed arm hoping to break the cuff off.

The one who was wielding the sword must've been skilled as they switched to the blunt edge. It came down on his forearm, hard. He had to grit his teeth to keep from yelling out.

Instead he used his uncuffed hand to grab the person's sword arm and twist it harshly until the sword clamored to the ground. Then he kicked the person in the torso flat footed. He heard them smack into the ground.

By this time he could tell that the adrenaline was fading. His movements were becoming sluggish once more.

Two people came at him once more and he was able to dodge the first blow but the second was a kick to the rins that sent him flying into a tree. That time he did hear something pop in his chest.

_I probably just broke a rib._

His head was foggy but he still tried to get up, that's when another strong kick landed on his torso. What little air he had was forced from his lungs leaving an unpleasant burning sensation when he tried to refill them.

He heard the popping of someone's knees, and while he knew that the person was right next to him it sounded far off. The person then roughly grabbed a handful of hair and yanked his face up. Ace kept his lips together to keep from making a sound

From this distance he could make out a face, it was a male apparently.

"You put up quite the fight despite the seastone, and, ah, your handicap."

Ace didn't dignify the comment with a response, though the tug on his head was growing more painful. He knew why when his head was yanked further up and then slammed onto the ground.

Ace felt the sharp pain, and then nothing.

Marco wouldn't say that he's worried, concerned maybe, but not worried. Izou would say that he was, but he wasn't. He had stepped out from the tavern to get some fresh air. It didn't matter that it was only a few minutes after he learned that Ace had left. He'd been acting weird all night, day, actually if Marco thought about it all week.

So it was only natural that he was concerned.

With a sigh, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to make sure that Ace was able to get back safely.

Marco was the only one that knew about his blindness, so it'd be better if he was the one to find Ace. The argument sounded weak even in his own head.

Slowly Marco made his way to the ship keeping an ear out for quiet footsteps.

Eventually he found himself climbing onto the ship. It was looking like Ace had made the trip back to the ship and was likely already asleep or raiding the kitchen before bed.

Still, Marco couldn't shake off the feeling of worry. So instead he decided that he'd look in the kitchen and around the ship. He'd avoid Ace's bedroom until the morning on the of chance that Ace was already asleep.

When he entered the dining room and kitchen he could tell that no one had been in there since dinner. He stood in the middle of the room, part of him wanted to check on Ace in his room and risk the younger pirate's wrath, the other part of him said that he was just being paranoid.

Marco shook his head. He was the one who probably needed the sleep if he was so restless over Ace of all people going missing. He had dealt with his blindness for most of his life, he could handle himself for a night.

With that decided he headed to his own room to sleep. He didn't feel the least bit bad for leaving everyone at the height of the party. Izou would yell at him in the morning, for doing so, but it wasn't anything new.

He walked to his room keeping his sense primed for anything that could be Ace, or anyone who might've seen him. Strangely no one was on deck aside from the sentries. Marco shook his head again.

The walk back to his room was a solitary one. But once he got there, the bed was as welcoming as ever. Not even worry about wayward brothers would keep him up, if it was an unfounded worry that is.

* * *

 

The next morning Marco found himself waking up to furious banging on his door. He groaned thinking that Izou was going to yell at him already. With a sigh he sat up and ran a hand down his face, noting that it was fairly bright out indicating that it was late morning at the earliest.

"Marco!"

That was Izou.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Ace?"

Marco frowned, a heavy weight settling in his stomach. "Not since before he left last night."

"Seriously?"

The older pirate walked over to the door quickly, opening it and almost causing Izou to lose his balance, like he was straining to hear something through the wood.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, he didn't show up for breakfast, neither did you, so we thought... you know... since you guys left pretty close together last night." Izou shrugged.

Marco didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that people thought he was sleeping with Ace or the fact that no one had seen Ace in at least eight hours. He decided that he could be shocked about both.

"No, and I couldn't find him last night."

Izou nodded. "I thought he was already asleep so I let him be. Then Thatch told me that Ace wasn't asking him for breakfast at the crack of dawn."

Marco tensed. "So no one knows where he's at?"

The question was rhetorical as Marco was already brushing past Izou. He assumed the other had already checked the usual places Ace sought out to be by himself, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hiding out in the upper crow's nest, or maybe he fell asleep there.

The moment that he hit the outside he shifted his arms into wings, the odd feeling that he was getting was making him act rashly.

He landed on the edge of the crow's nest seconds later and only found the folded up blankets that Ace kept up here. He frowned, checking to see if they were warm at all. Nothing. His frown deepened as he rejoined Izou on the deck.

"Not up there either?" Izou asked, though he didn't look like he was expecting an answer to disprove the statement.

"No. Did you ask the sentries if they saw him?" Marco said looking around incase Ace was just blending in.

"I'll do that now. Maybe you should give a head's up to Pops? We're supposed to set sail soon."

Marco nodded and headed off to his father's quarters. He doubted that the fire user had went to speak to their father privately, but there was always an off chance that he did, or Pops had sent him out on an errand. That wasn't completely unheard of at least, and it served to quell some of Marco's anxiety.

He spent a few seconds to wonder why he was so worked up about Ace being missing. It wasn't like this was the first time one of the Whitebeards was late getting back to the ship, or had taken off somewhere else for air; Marco hadn't been anxious about them. So why Ace? Was it because he was new, or something else? His blindness maybe?

There were plenty of tells from the younger pirate that there was something wrong, but Marco hadn't pushed. Now he was wishing that he had, maybe someone on the ship was making him uncomfortable. He doubted that was the reason.

Pops room appeared before him and Marco blinked in surprise, he hadn't thought he was moving that quickly.

He raised a hand and knocked.

"Come in."

With a slight smile Marco opened the door. Pops had always been able to comfort him with just a few words, but worry still coiled tightly in his stomach.

Pops was reading the newspaper, an empty bottle of sake tipped over on his nightstand. He looked up when Marco shut the door behind him.

"What brings you here so early... Marco?" His tone changed from welcoming to concerned the moment his eyes landed on the phoenix.

_Of course he could tell something is wrong right away._

"Have you seen Ace recently?"

"He came to talk to me last night. Why?" Pops answered right away, a frown forming.

"Just no one has seen him since he left the tavern." Some of his worry had dissipated upon hearing that Pops had seen Ace.

"He came to me and we talked for a little while, but I haven't seen him sense." Pops replied, moving to stand. "Have you checked every place he usually goes too?"

"Izou did. He's asking the sentries about Ace now." Marco replied.

Pops started walking to the door and Marco fell into step slightly behind him. He could tell that Pops was taking this very seriously. The first mate couldn't help but wonder what Ace talked to Pops about, he had a feeling that it was important.

They reached the deck quickly and Izou was standing by the railing, like he had been about to walk down to get them but then heard them coming.

"Izou?" Pops inquired, his voice becoming more gentler.  
"The sentries said that they saw Ace leave, but not come back. Thatch is looking for any sign of him nearby, has been all morning after he told me."

Marco nodded. That seemed like something Thatch would do, he was as big of a worrier as he made fun of Marco for being.

Pops headed to his chair looking deep in thought and Marco followed after him waiting for what his orders would be. They would surely start a thorough search now that they knew Ace wasn't on the ship.

There was a commotion on the boardwalk and Marco walked over to the railing, wanting to see what it was.

Thatch was running up, yelling something and waving his hands wildly, there looked to be something in one of his hands. Without looking at Pops for permission Marco leapt off the ship and moved to meet Thatch half way.

"What's wrong?" Marco asked, though it sounded like a demand.

"I was looking for Ace, and I went over to the trees that he headed off too sometimes, and when I was there it looked like there was some sort of struggle." Thatch panted, then he lifted his hand. "I found this."

Marco's eyes widened. It was Ace's hat. "What..."

"I don't know, there was a lot of burn marks and blood. There was even a broken tree."

There wasn't any need for words. It was obvious. Ace had gotten into a fight, and had apparently lost. Whoever he'd been fighting had taken him away from their point of conflict. Marco figured that if they had gone to the trouble of moving him it meant that they had taken him some place.

He turned to where Pops had moved to the railing and was listening to the conversation with a guarded expression.

"Pops?" Marco asked, breaking the tense air.

"We're going to figure out what happened, and find Ace." He stated calmly, though Marco could see Izou inch away from the intense aura their father was putting off. "Marco, go with Thatch, see if you can find anything."

The phoenix and chef didn't wait to hear the others orders both quickly taking off in the direction Thatch had just come from.

 _Ace, just please be safe._ Marco thought as he picked up his pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaannnndddd we're at the bottom!  
> Is the ending rushed? I was in a rythym and typing really fast, so I don't know if the ending feels rushed or bad? I'm sorry if it is, I don't want it too be, and I might fix it if its /that/ bad, so I mean if it is don't feel bad telling me, I don't mind. I want this story to be as good as it can be, and if it can be improved then please tell me that!  
> Until next time! Later!


	9. Chapter 8: Time crunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is reeling from the events of Ace getting captured and Ace is mostly just confused

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAVE NO FEAR THE NEXT UPDATE IS HERE! Let's pretend it didn't take me months to get this out? In my defense I lost the hard copy I had, and then when I found it again it took me a week to get this whole chapter out and transcribed as well as edited (which might not be perfect I tried). That being said its one of the shorter chapters, and I think this makes the whole thing 70k, excluding author notes. Still a shortish chapter because I'm trying to get ready for the next arc. That being said, there's some description of injuries and some medical terminology I probably messed up. Ah, I've rambled long enough, see you at the bottom!
> 
> DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

* * *

Ace groaned as he awoke. His face felt sticky, and he took a second to realize that wherever he was smelled like copper. Dried blood? The (maybe) blood covered half of his head and underneath his nose. Beneath him he felt wood and there was a slight sway.

_Am I on a ship?_ He wondered.

Also, he wondered why he tired, beyond tired actually and he ached... not unlike a hangover. Odd, he didn't remember drinking that much, nor had he ever been so drunk that he had a blackout. He pursed his lips, trying to think of what happened but his thoughts were muddled.

There was a tavern, and he went with everyone... but that was where his memory stopped. His consciousness was fading, so he switched to doing something less strenuous (though how trying to recall memories was tiring he didn't understand), like waking his body the rest of the way up. Ace moved to push himself up and then he was vomiting.

After he finished, he noted with distaste that it was mostly bile with a chemical aftertaste. He shoved himself away from it, rolling onto his back. A gasp escaped him when he felt something puncture him near his spine. Frowning when his fire didn't move to heal it.

He tried summoning it, only to have it stir underneath his skin and the return to its slumber. That was bizarre... being hungover had never affected his powers before and he was out of energy to move off the puncture. It was a small injury so he wasn't that worried about it. His head throbbed sharply and he lost his train of thought.

He reacted instinctively attempting to rub at his temples only to be met with resistance and the sound of chains being pulled taut. Admittedly, this wasn't the first time he had woken up chained to something. He vividly remembers a night before the Grand Line and... huh, he doesn't remember it as vividly as he thought, but, he knew it had been fun.

Pulling himself back to the present, he knew he still needed to figure out what happened. It would probably explain why his head was so foggy and his memories were so spotty.

Ace blinked his eyes open, after realizing that he had never opened them, noting with some worry that the room was completely dark. He prayed that it was because he was somewhere dark to not aggravate his hangover. Shifting once more caused whatever was puncturing his back to dig deeper. That was another question, why was he so disconnected from his body. There should be more feeling from something digging into his back; but, all he felt was a slight pressure. Not at all painful.

He's more concerned now. Things kept piling up: the lack of his powers, the chains, the amnesia, and the chemical taste. He had been drugged, more than likely after he was cuffed with seastone (his fire would've burned off any of the chemical) so there had to have been a struggle. Never would he willingly submit himself to seastone. Recent experiences with it have left him wary.

His breath came quicker wincing at the pain it caused in his chest, and his head throbbed in time to breaths, making any advanced thought difficult. He needed to know what happened after the bar. The tavern... He left early, but then what?

Whitebeard. He went to Pops. Talked to him. Said something important, but what...? Did he leave the ship?

There were footsteps coming from somewhere nearby and Ace quickly relaxed his body and tried to even out his breathing. If this was an enemy, then it would be best to be asleep. It was the only advantage that he could have at the moment.

Something opened, it squeaked so he assumed it was a cell door, and someone stepped inside. He was certain that he wasn't on Pops' ship anymore (unless what he told the man was _that_ bad). His small panic had pushed out whatever affects the drug still had on his system, and he felt the puncture wound more acutely now as well as the blood leaking from the wound.

"Hmm, must've woken up at some point." The voice said.

It didn't sound the least bit familiar. What had happened?

"Pass out again? Or playing possum?" Without any warning a foot slammed down onto his chest.

The stomp wasn't hard enough to break any new ribs, but the cracked ones gave more under the force (and when did _that_ happen?). Surprisingly he remained limp, but it took everything he had. The puncture dug in deeper.

"Guess you are out cold." The voice murmured.

There was some rustling, and the sound of glass hitting another glass. He felt a prick on his thigh. A few minutes later he could feel his heart rate and breathing start to pick up. For a few seconds he tried to fight it but he ended up taking in a large breath to try and calm himself. It was too similar to a panic attack for him not to react.

"Wakey, wakey."

Ace couldn't make out the face, or any of the features, the light was too poor. Though he doubted he could make one out even with good lighting.

"The serum will wear off soon, but know it's only this bad because you didn't need it? Faking being asleep like that, naughty boy."

He scowled, in hopefully the right direction. The man crouched down, and Ace could feel his breath, it smelled horrible. "Now, let me give you the rundown of what's going to happen to you, and then let's see if we can do anything about your pain.

The strange thing was, the moment that he said it Ace was very nearly overwhelmed with the pain from various parts of his body. He couldn't stop the grunt from escaping his lips. While he wanted nothing more than to tell this guy to fuck off, he knew that he would be wasting a valuable resource. The only thing to do was play along a be docile.

Ace needed those answers, and time to heal.

"So, then, what is going to happen to me?"

* * *

Marco grit his teeth as another drunkard scurried away from him. The other commanders and himself had started asking around town for anything that could help them find Ace, after Thatch and him had gone back to the trees. Someone had to have seen something. They needed that information, any information actually, the traffickers or whatever they were already had a full day and several hours on them. Any longer and it was incredibly likely that they would lose the trail.

It seemed as though they were chasing professionals, there was very little to go off of. The point of abduction hadn't had any clues. He wouldn't lose heart, but it was worrisome, who knew what their goals with Ace were.

Slamming his fist into the wall did nothing to relieve the anger igniting under the surface. He breathed deeply as the blue flame licked away the injury.

"No luck?" Izou said from behind him.

"None. Did you have any, yoi?" He turned around.

Izou shook his head. "Thatch hasn't reported in yet. Maybe he has something? People like talking to him."

Marco said nothing.

"Don't blame yourself." Izou set a hand on his shoulder. "It was arrogant of us to think that no one would challenge us by taking one of our brothers."

_Unless they found out about Ace being blind. Then they'd go for him, Whitebeard or not._ He caught himself before he could speak.

That would've been another mess, blurting Ace's secret like that. _Calm down, think about your words before you speak._

"Let's head back, the others might be waiting on us." His fellow commander squeezed his shoulder before he started walking.

He followed behind. Marco was concerned about Ace, if he truly was at someone's mercy even if they didn't know about his blindness now, they soon would. The Whitebeards would have to find him before any lasting damage was done.

The ship came into view, and it was only due to his enhanced eyesight that he saw that the crew was in a frantic but controlled chaos. It was different from how he left the ship (which was mostly chaos). A glance back at Izou said that he was also surprised by this.

With a nod from his companion Marco was flying to the ship. From his vantage point he could see no signs of battle or impending attack, despite this, his apprehension grew.

He rose and then dived towards the ship, and the crew left enough room for him to land and and keep his momentum up to Pops' chair as he shifted. Off to the side he saw that two crewmates were prepared to raise the anchor.

"Pops?" He spoke first.

"Haruta was able to learn the name of the organization that took Ace, as well as get a rough location of their base."

Marco looked over to Haruta, eyebrows raised. "Who was it?"

First they shrugged, and then answered. "They call themselves The Snapdragons."

He tilted his head trying to recall if he had heard that name before. Behind him heard someone running.

"Like- Like the flower?" Izou was doubled over panting.

"I believe so," Pops answered, "is that of some significance?"

"The flower means deception." The commander replied.

Marco bit his lip, then addressed Haruta. "Where are they?"

"Supposedly their base is located on the opposite side of the New World."

"We'll set sail and hopefully catch up to them before they have a chance to do something. When everyone is back we're casting off." Several lower ranking members of the crew nodded and Pops' order.

Marco was glad that organizations like these tended to have a fault. Most of the hunters had a bounty on them, making them unable to turn in the bounty themselves; which meant that they had to regroup and send another person out. Likely, they would catch up to them when kidnappers were leaving the base.

It was simple, most groups didn't have the manpower or strength to stand up to the full might of the Whitebeard Pirates (not to mention a pissed off phoenix). The trick was going to be getting across the New World, especially if it was an unfamiliar part. A month, at the earliest, is what they were looking at travelwise, and that was with everything going well. Marco knew very well that things never went well in this sea.

"How many are off ship?" He asked instead.

Pops was silent for a few seconds. "Fifty."

The Phoenix had to stop himself from growling. It would take several hours for everyone to wander back to the ship. Personally, he wanted to fly out and round them up himself; but, past experience taught him that it would just cause a delay if they arrived and he was still flying around. Every second counted, and a month was already too long to have Ace off ship (captured, he amended it would be different if was by his own violation, he didn't actually believe that which bothered him more than he would've liked). Marco tried to ignore his how restless his phoenix was, it was restless, which was more of a reason that he should stay grounded.

Loud footsteps came from the stairs and three of the search party reported in.

_47 to go._

He remained by his father for a few minutes more, watching the crew move around. Rushing off would show how troubled he was by this event. Instead he climbed up to the uppermost crow's nest to wait for everyone to return.

* * *

The leader nodded as his lieutenant reported on their captive's status. It seemed that Portgas hadn't put up much of a fight, even allowing him to be injected with the drug again. Despite how disconcerted he was involving Portgas' docileness he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Perhaps the pain was bad enough that the drug was a true blessing.

All that mattered was that it was taken, no matter the reasons behind it. If they could get the results they wanted without torture it was a win. He simply detested torture, it was gruesome, but should the success mission relay on it, then he'd be willing to toss away his personal feelings on the matter. The pirate probably wouldn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

Everything else was proceeding as planned. The pirates would be out of the picture for a month, which is all he needed, and the doctor should be at the rendezvous point. The marines had very few questions about someone turning in a pirate, and even less if it was someone of a noble profession like a doctor. They had the tale worked out as well so that the World Government wouldn't get wind of their activities.

He leaned back satisfied. This was perhaps one of the easiest bounties that he had brought in. All because the kid was stupid enough to go out to sea blind and then raise enough hell to get the Marines' attention. The only variable was Whitebeard and his crew, even if they were a month out of the way, if anything gave them away then they'd have the first division Commander on them quickly.

Perhaps the first mate wouldn't do anything so long as they had Portgas, and then they could capture him as well. If they got him, they wouldn't need to worry about working a day for the rest of their life.

Easy money.

Ace was finally alone and his head was spinning, and that had nothing to do with his injuries. The pain medication was coursing through his system and on top of the legrathy from the seastone made him slump to the ground.

His captor had pulled him off what was puncturing him, which he learned was a rusty nail. So that was some relief, but he doubt that he could really feel it at the moment. Also, his head was foggy making thinking hard, which is what he needed to do.

What he actually needed to do was get out of these chains and off this ship. They were taking him to the marines, and it sounded like his captors only knew that he was blind and not the son of the devil, which meant that he was going to spend the rest of his life in Impel Down. A far more terrifying fate than a public execution.

Preferably he'd have neither happen to him. So far he's only thought of three options that would let him get off of this ship: A rescue, him saving himself, or being turned over to the Marines. The first option was the most favorable, but he doubted that the Whitebeard Pirates would risk themselves for someone who had only been on the crew for a few months. The last option was not much of an option. Meaning that he would have to save himself.

_Why should I expect anything else?_ Its nothing new, he'd been doing it since he could hunt for himself.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, they were becoming harder to keep open.

When he awoke he was surprised, he didn't remember falling asleep. Ace moved around, knowing that they wouldn't have moved him but hoping none the less. Unsurprising he found that he was still in the same room.

It also seemed like he had been undisturbed throughout his sleep. He had no idea if it had been hours or minutes. The ache that was coursing through his body made him lean towards the former. His stomach growled telling him that it had been hours since his last meal.

Were they going to starve him? For some reason they wanted him alive, so it was unlikely unless their travel time was very short. But, if it was a long travel time he could use it to his advantage. The guy yesterday didn't know of their exact destination.

Ace wondered if they were going to give him any more of that painkiller. It worked well, and might numb him enough that he could try and pull himself out of his cuffs. The action would end up dislocating his wrists and ankles, but there was really no other option of quick escape.

A door opened and Ace stilled. He didn't have time to fake being asleep, also, he didn't want to throw his already sore body onto the ground.

"C'mon, someone wants to meet you." Someone said.

Ace shifted. "How am I supposed to follow you? I mean, I'm a bit tied up at the moment."

The blow to his cheek stung, and made him bite the inside of his cheek. He spat out blood.

"I'd advise you to bite your cheek."

He growled. It was the short tempered guard today. Maybe he could use it to his advantage. Make him slip up somehow.

"I mean you did make me do that already so..."

This time he was expecting the blow and kept himself from drawing any more blood. After that he stopped his taunting not wanting to rile him up anymore and earn a more serious injury. He already knew that he was going to have a nice bruise on his face.

The guard set to work removing the chains around his ankles, and unfastening his chains from what he assumed was an anchor point on the floor. Mentally Ace tsked, he had wanted them to give him full range of his appendages, maybe if he played along as much as it pained him he'd be reward with that luxury.

Suddenly he felt himself being hoisted up by his arms, grunting as it tugged on his wounded chest. Blood also rushed away from his head making him dizzy. Then he found himself upside down, something pointy (boney?) pressing into his ribs.

_Damn it. Can't count the steps._ Ace pursed his lips thinking. "Careful! Do you want my ribs to stab into my lungs?"

For his complaint he got bounced.

"Your poster does say dead or alive, so watch yourself."

"But you want me alive, that's why you haven't killed me yet." Ace countered.

The man grumbled something, that he clearly wasn't meant to hear but still, it reached his ears.

"If it wouldn't cost us 20% of your bounty you would be dead already."

Ace blinked. He had never heard of Marines taking off money for bringing in a dead pirate. So then these guys weren't getting his full bounty... were they working with someone? It'd make sense but... who? Obviously someone doesn't like him, but everyone that has had a problem with him he's settled like a man. Maybe whoever he was going to meet would give more information.

They started walking and he tried to count the steps that were taken. It was harder since they weren't his own. He was also having a hard time figuring out which way they turned.

A door knob was turned and suddenly he found himself assaulted by the sounds of the ocean. Waves, gulls (they were near land?), wind blowing through a sail, and wind making a flag flutter. The sun hit his back, and it was hot, meaning it was around the middle of the day.

Ace swallowed thickly, feeling his pulse speed up. If it was noon, and not cloudy (which it didn't feel like it was) then what he is seeing should be brightly colored. Not this muted whatever he was seeing. He knew what it was.

" _And the worst?"_

" _A year."_

" _You're kidding?"_

" _No, and that's going off the assumption it won't speed up and you avoid severe trauma to your eyes and head."_

His heart sped up. That conversation had only been a couple of months ago. Had the blow to his head last night been that bad? _Wait, how long had it been?_

Memories stirred. There was an ambush... and he had fought... then... his head was smashed into the grass. Ace was pretty sure that it qualified as trauma, but he didn't think that it was bad enough to cause this drastic of a change.

Suddenly he was set down. _Shit, I lost count._ If he was going to escape that would've been valuable knowledge. _Was it forty steps to the outside or fifty?_

"So, you're the man who's going to make me rich?"

It was a voice he's never heard before, there were a lot of those apparently. "Not if I can help it."

"And can you?"

Ace didn't have an answer for that.

"I mean, you're injured, not horribly, and on ship you know nothing about in an area that you have no idea where. Not too bad of a situation, but for you it's impossible isn't it?"

He knew those facts very well. But it wouldn't stop him from trying. Like hell he was going walk straight into the marines' hands. Dying in the escape would at least tell the Whitebeard Pirates that he didn't give up without a fight.

"I can at least make your last few days comfortable before the marines take you to Impel Down."

Instead of answering he glared in the direction he thought the man was speaking from.

"Now, now, we don't need any of that." Footsteps thudded loudly.

His head was pushed backwards by a finger underneath his chin.

"These are your last few days of freedom. I suggest you don't make them horrible."

_If I can just make it through today, it'll be enough._ The old mantra rose to the front of his mind.

"I mean it isn't like you're waiting to be rescued by the Whitebeards, are you? They're going the completely wrong way."

He went cold. _No, they wouldn't. He called me his son, Marco called me brother._ "You're wrong!"

"I mean why would they risk injuries and casualties for someone like you?"

"They welcomed me into their family." Ace defended.

"Well, let's see how hopeful you are when its been a month and they still haven't come to save you."

He didn't respond to it. Though, he knew that it was more than likely that they set off without him, he wouldn't give this bastard that satisfaction. Part of him still thought that they might come for him. _You don't leave family behind._

* * *

Doctor Conner paced nervously. Sure, he had dealt with pirates before, they had subsidized his income for many years. Those days he could ignore the actions that they took, because it wasn't due to him. But now he was part of a group currently kidnapping a crewmember of Whitebeard.

_If what they say about his loyalty is true, then..._ "No, I can't think like that. He assured me the Whitebeard Pirates would be miles away, in the New World!"

Even with that thought, he held his hand up for the server to come by and give him another ale. It had only been a couple of years since he had last seen Ace, maybe the pirate wouldn't recognize his voice. _What if he does and then escapes? I'll have Whitebeard banging down my door!_

His knees were shaking and he drank the ale quickly, slamming some bills onto the table. Outside the cool air calmed him down. Drum Island was one of the few islands that he could get to easy. While he knew of the cruelties that Wapo had done to his own doctors, the king wouldn't dare touch another nation's doctor.

Especially if he was there in secret. Which he was. Not even his nurse knew where he went. Now that he gave it thought, he probably should've told someone incase this backfired.

"Oh, this whole ordeal has got me frazzled. It'll be over within a month I just have to wait here. And keep my eyes on the newspapers! Those pirates won't get the drop on me!"

There, easy fix. _Just a month, and then I can stop living in squalor in a clinic barely staying above water._

If Doctor Conner had been paying any decent attention instead of focusing on himself. He would've noticed the Monster of Drum Island watching over him.

"Pirates? I'll have to tell Doctorine!"

* * *

**/+4 days/**

* * *

Izou watched as Marco shifted uneasily at the stern. He sighed. Seriously, these boys needed to learn how to talk properly. When they got Ace back he would make sure he and Marco had a long chat about in which direction they wanted their relationship to go.

Silently he stepped up next to his brother.

"Beli for your thoughts?"

Marco shook his head. "Its nothing serious, yoi..."

"Your face says otherwise." Izou raised an eyebrow.

The phoenix sighed, turning his gaze back out to the sea. "How did we let this happen? I mean, we're one of the strongest crews in all of the seas, and someone took our brother so close to our ship, yoi!"

"Marco, you know Ace likes to spend time on his own, and someone took advantage of it. More than likely for a bounty than any ill intentions towards Ace himself." He tried to speak calmly, there was no doubt that they were all in the same mindset as Marco.

It was unheard of, but just because of that doesn't mean it isn't possible.

"I don't know. He was off that entire night, restless, yoi."

_It was about whatever he told Pops, but what... no it couldn't be?_

Izou pursed his lips. "I know, but there was nothing that we could've done, he's still adjusting to the ship. Maybe being docked made him anxious."

"Maybe." Marco straightened up and sent a look to the top-most crows nest.

He knew that his brother had been spending as much time as he could without neglecting his duties up there. Probably even sleeping, but he couldn't know for certain. What Izou did know was this ordeal was bothering his brother deeply.

Like he was terrified for Ace, and while they were all a little worried. Could Marco know something that he wasn't sharing? If it was anything major he would've said it, and Izou knew now wasn't the time for baseless accusations.

"Maybe you should talk it out with Pops?"

Marco made a noise. "I'm going to confirm our course heading, yoi."

Izou watched him go. The faster they got Ace back the better. Hopefully they would be able to make the journey quickly, they had a solid tail wind and favorable seas, if it held they could in theory shave five days off of their travel.

As the first division commander, Marco didn't have the luxury of sitting around twiddling his thumbs waiting for the ship to arrive at their destination. However in exchange for his loyalty to his duty, he knew Pops very well, and he knew when there was something he was keeping quiet. Which is why when he left Izou he didn't check the course but went to Pops' room. He see if he was right about the topic of conversation. It might lift some of the burden.

"Pops?"

"Come in."

Pops was leaning back in his chair, bottle of sake for once forgotten as he looked through the porthole. "I was wondering when you'd come by."

Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Thatch said you were looking more stressed than normal."

"I suppose, yoi." He sat down.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Marco wondering if he should actually spill Ace's secret, if he was wrong about his guess. He might never regain his trust, but... this was an emergency. Though it would hurt having Ace lose all of that trust he displayed when they were together, it was something that needed to be done.

"It's about Ace, yoi." He started. "It's something he doesn't tell people freely, but it's why we need to get their at the first possible moment."

"Ace's secret? He already told me, the night he was taken. It took a lot for him to say something, which is why he went to the clearing to calm down."

Marco blinked and then blinked again. Ace had told Pops already? Certainly, it explained why he had been so agitated that day and why he was alone. But he wanted to know why he hadn't been told about this. He wasn't entitled to everything that the younger pirate did, but he was a confident. Well... If Pops knew, then it wasn't a problem.

A burden was lifted off of him, he really didn't want to betray the trust he was given.

"We need to get to him before they hand him over to the marines. If they find out..."

"It'll be trouble, yoi." Marco finished.

Pops fell silent once more, drumming his fingers on his chair. He hadn't sensed a dismissal and remained seated looking out of the porthole, in the distances clouds were gather; they wouldn't reach the Moby it wasn't that strong of a storm.

"Marco," and he turned his head back to his father, "fly ahead, see if you can find them. Don't get further than two days out."

He sighed, relieved to have a proactive roll now. Nodding he stood up. "I'll take one of the mini den-dens, yoi."

"Good."

Now that he was dismissed he quickly moved to the deck, looking for one of the commanders to have relay his whereabouts to the rest of the crew. Haruta was sitting on the railing, tossing something overboard, pieces of wood?

"Haruta!"

"Marco!" They turned around quickly. "Any news?"

"Not yet, can you tell anyone who comes looking for me that I'm scouting, yoi?"

"Sure, Pops is letting you isn't he?"

The question was unneeded, he wouldn't do anything against Pops' orders no matter how much he wanted too. He still confirmed it for them. "Yeah."

"Okay! Good luck."

Marco went back under deck to grab the den-den, which in his haste to get of the ship he nearly forgot, and climbed back out onto the deck. He waved to a few people, slipped the snail into one of his pockets; then jumped onto the Moby's figure head.

Taking a step off the whale he fell towards the sea for a few seconds before his phoenix erupted letting him coast harmlessly above the waves for a few seconds. After he was fully adjusted Marco raised himself to circle around the Moby once to orientate himself (thank whoever that phoenixes had a natural sense of direction able to find the location of their "nest") and then he sped off in the Moby's current heading. As usual he had a log pose nestled in one of his pockets, it would be foolish not to have one with him.

With the wind behind him and his natural strength he was gaining leagues on the Moby. All he had to worry about was any storms that might stir up and conserving his energy.

He loved flying, perhaps more than anything, and even dire circumstances never managed to lessen his enjoyment of flying (really the only time that he didn't like it was when he had to do fast shifting). There was nothing more freeing than flying through clouds miles above anyone else. Yet, as he flew on, the familiar light feeling he got in his stomach turned heavy. Marco tried to shake it off by barrel rolling in the air and doing some loops. It had been a long time since he had flown after all.

Still, the feeling remained. Hopefully, a long flight could disperse it. When he ran into trouble he needed to be in his best shape (which one could argue that he already wasn't), and this feeling was distracting.

Clouds moved in front of him, and he dived below them to keep the ocean in view. It was clear and calm, and very different from his mental state.

* * *

Ace wasn't entirely sure how long he had been captured, longer than a day but shorter than a month. While it would've been wise of him to count the meals he was getting, just for a rough estimate, his mind was always in a pleasant haze whenever the meals were brought to him.

When he came out of the haze, he knew what it was from, whatever pain medication they were using for him. The dosage had to be off, it was very rare that he was affected badly by medication (aside from sleepiness). He hated losing control of his facilities like that, but the medication lessened the chills he was feeling. Not that he was a doctor, but he knew that chills weren't good. The area around his ribs also felt funny, it hurt horribly but there was something else too it.

Losing his sight did make him more attuned with his body, it was the only way that he could keep injuries and illness from progressing to something worse.

All he really needed was medication that could dull the pain he was feeling but not muddle his head. He'd have a better chance of getting off of the ship then. Surviving getting off the ship, now, that part was the question. The ocean would claim him, so unless they docked before this "transfer" point they were talking about, drowning might be his only option. _If_ they were right about the Whitebeard Pirates.

_You know they probably are. You're some new kid, and not to mention, you told Pops who your father was. He might think it's lucky to get rid of the son of a demon like this._

Ace hung his head, and let the words soak in. At the moment he didn't believe them, not completely.

* * *

_This cell was familiar. The dampness and coolness the most notable, but more prominent was the hopelessness seeping through the walls. Immediately he tensed up, his fire tired to bubble up to the surface only to be stopped by his own lack of strength._

" _What?" He whispered. The words tore through his throat, like he hadn't had anything to drink in weeks._

" _After that last incident, we couldn't have you damaging yourself, Demon Son. Perfect condition for the big show."_

_The voice was still unfamiliar, but the intent was easily known. They meant to do harm._

" _Why do you still have the strength to raise your head? They won't come for you, Demon Son. It's been months and there's been no movement from them, they're going to let you march to that execution platform and then they're going to let you die. So do everyone a favor and do just that!"_

_There was a roar, and him praying for just an ounce of sight (and really was he in a place with no light or...) so that he could dodge out of the way._

_A hand was around his throat and tightening, tightening, tightening. He couldn't breathe, just a single breath, just one breath._ Please. _His thoughts were getting sluggish. Dying here, it wasn't an option, he needed to get out. See Luffy one more time, make Pops the king, even if the man wanted nothing to with him._

_If he just lived, he'd be happy, if just for this day._

Please.

* * *

"Please."

The word startled the guard. He had been coming to check on the bounty after hearing some strange sounds from the cell. Briefly he questioned why they were leaving him in a spot that could be easily found if they were boarded, but let the thought drift away.

It was the first time that he had seen the prisoner. Everything he had heard about this guy had made him think that he was an older pirate. It was rare for young people to be blind, especially warriors of any kind. There was that one guy, a swordsman from far lands who was rumored to be blind, but he was still an adult.

This bounty was...young. He couldn't be out of his teen years. Freckles covered his face and arms with wild black hair, but it wasn't that that made him seem so little. Portgas (that was his name right?) was curled up as much as he could be with the chains restricting his movements and his head tilted down towards his chest. On closer inspection, it wasn't the broken ribs that they hadn't treated causing the uneven breathing but the tears running down his face even though he looked to be asleep.

"Please!" He cried out again.

The guard satisfied that the bounty wouldn't die on his watch shut the cell door. He was young but he still was a pirate. That kid didn't deserve empathy or sympathy. It was a bad hand to be dealt, and he had played it. Whatever he got he deserved be it the block or imprisonment.

There was no need for him to get any more involved with the prisoner. He'd done his duty.

But it was hard, the pirate reminded him of his own boys who would be teenagers now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd we're at the bottom! Chat session time!
> 
> 1) Oh my goodness all of you are so nice? Thank you so much for your reviews/comments. I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it and I'll work on my writing pace. School is winding down, only two months before break (however have some heavy testing to do RIP this month, so there's that.) ((Also Whitebeard is not happy, but he has it under control, for the crew and only that reason)
> 
> Honestly that's its, just thank you all so much!


	10. Time Waits for No Pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ocean is very big and it's proving inconvenient, especially when you don't know who you're tracking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rises from the depths of the ocean late with Starbucks.* Uh, hi? I'm going to pretend it didn't take me this long to get this chapter out and leave it quietly here and hope that you all still enjoy it as much as you've been seeming to. Also lot's of skipping around and some info dump. But the next chapter is going to pick up and get exciting. This chapter is also known as Side Characters Get Some Love.

In his experience, he knew that coincidences were very rarely just that. The timing was too perfect. Ace had told him of his lineage and then he was taken. Whitebeard was old, but he hadn’t lost his sharpness yet. More than likely this group had some sort of problem with Roger or knew how eager the Marines would be to get ahold of his son.

It was simply amazing, that people could be so greedy that they would put their lives on the line for something so non-important. Still, even their apparent cleverness wouldn’t let them live long once they caught up.

He didn’t feel sorry for them, to have the full wrath of him and his sons solely on them, especially Marco.

Despite the situation, he grinned to himself. Marco and Ace, they certainly were the pair, he could see how Izou was so keen to figure out their relationship to each other. Subconsciously, they were important to each other. Never in all of his years with Marco (and it had been so many that he no longer knew the number) had he seen him form that fierce of a protectiveness over someone. The phoenix was relaxed around the fire-user, and it was nice to see. Ace on the other hand, from his limited experience with him, seemed to be the most at peace with Marco. They had also spent a large amount of their time together.

Whatever came of it he’d approve of, they were good for each other. Its why he had sent Marco ahead, Whitebeard could tell that his eldest was growing restless and stressed (and it would start to take a toll on him).

That was two days ago, meaning at any time he would be called and given a report. He had a sinking feeling in his pit that he knew that he shouldn’t ignore, whether it was about Ace and his current status or about the kidnappers themselves he wasn’t sure.

The call came after he settled in with lunch. As usual the nurse had made sure it was as green and leafy as possible.

_‘Peru-peru-peru’_

He looked over to where the snail was now awake, it already had Marco’s features.

_‘Peru-peru-peru’_

“Hello?”

“Pops!” Marco sounded surprised.

“Is everything alright?” There was an odd twist to his gut.

“I think,” there was a long pause, “No, I know we’ve been tricked, yoi.”

The twisting settled down into something heavier, he knew Marco would explain in time. His son had always taken the time to phrase his thoughts correctly.

“There’s no sign of a ship out here, and every island I’ve checked is uninhabitable. By the charts any further they’ll hit the gales and that will tear any ship smaller than the Moby apart.”

Had they really been mislead so badly? It had cost them so much time already, whoever this group was, The Snapdragons (which seemed to be another trick) now had a week lead on them, and by the time they got back to their original starting point it’d be a two week lead.

“Return to the ship, we’ll have to think about our next course of action,” Whitebeard sighed heavily, away from the receiver.

“Yes, Pops.”

_Ga-chunk._

It’d take Marco another day to get back to the ship. They were far enough behind, there wasn’t a way to make up unless they were fortunate to catch a tailwind, at this time of year it was unlikely. And now they were back at the beginning, not a single link to Ace’s kidnappers, and any that they would have would be long gone off the island.

Whitebeard felt his age for the first time in a long while. There was absolutely nothing they could do. Keep sailing in the direction they were told and maybe it was the truth, or turn around and potentially pick the wrong direction from there and waste more time. Of course they could stay at a port until they hear something new, but that might not happen and the Marines would be nervous enough to engage his family if they were stationary for any length of time, and he doubted his sons would want to take such a passive stance. His hands were tired, and he was having trouble seeing how they could save Ace in a timely manner with so little to go off of.

It was made worse when he thought about what Ace had told him that night. He was Roger’s son, a person that many would want to see hurt and dead as if that would settle any score they had with the Pirate King. A cruel fate indeed. He vowed that when they got Ace back there wouldn’t be a soul that would know that the Gol bloodline still lived. Ace would have full discretion on who knew.

There was one thing that bothered him, the Marines had killed any woman and child thought to be involved with the Pirate King. Rouge would’ve had to have been in a town, heavily pregnant, how did she hide herself and the baby that long? Whitebeard guessed that there was a friend in the Marines, and he had a vague guess as to who it could be.

He still couldn’t believe that someone had been bold enough to challenge him on such a direct level. The care that they had taken to avoid pursuit was telling him that they weren’t sure they could win a head on conflict. Of course, he thought, it could be a directed attack on Roger or Ace himself. It was the most likely case when he thought further on it, much of Ace’s past was a secret and it was possible that he made some bad enemies or if he knew he was Roger’s son then other people surely knew as well. Information like that would catch a very high price.

It was a slap in the face, if that was the case, because he was Roger’s son then there had to be talk about that in the information network. There was only one person on the ship that could find talk about something like that, or may already know about any news like that.

His door slowly opened, he saw a small mousy girl, Ellie. She was the nurse sent to check on him, it had been decided that he would be checked on every hour because of the potential damage rising stress levels could cause him.

“Ellie?”

“Yes Pops?” She spoke quietly.

“Can you find Haruta for me? I need to talk to them.”

She looked startled by the request, “Right away!”

A few seconds the door had clicked shut and he heard the sound of running footsteps. This was grasping at straws, but it was the only thing that he had to grasp at.

* * *

Haruta knew it wasn’t unusual for Pops to call down one of the commanders, but they weren’t used to being called down so suddenly. Something had to be wrong, Ellie had come charging straight at them, yelling about Pops wanting their presence.

“Any idea what Pops wants?” They asked.

“No, he just asked me to get you,” she wrung her hands together, “do you think this has anything to do with Ace?”

Thinking on it, it made sense, that this this would be about their currently missing brother. Still if it was something important the, why wouldn't anyone else be called down? _Oh no! What if I missed a summoning call, that’ll be so embarrassing!_

“Maybe. No one else was down there?” Haruta asked.

“Pops was talking to Marco when I was down the hallway, maybe he found something?”

They shrugged. It was hard to know what Marco would report, the New World was unpredictable most of the time, it could’ve been that he got stopped by the weather or something else had happened, like an island suddenly surfacing. Haruta winced at that thought, it was throw off Marco’s homing and it could make him permanently disoriented and then they would have two brothers missing.

“Haruta!” Ellie was holding up her hands looking worried, “you spaced out there for a moment.”

“Sorry, it's a lot to think about. We’ve never had something like this happen before.”

Ellie nodded in agreement. She had only be aboard two years but  rarely was anyone approached in a hostile manner. Being on such an infamous crew had its perks.

Haruta moved forward. More anxious to see what was the importance of the meeting now. Ace was a good friend and it would be nice to get him back as soon as possible. As it was they felt rather useless waiting around. Everyone was feeling that way, everyone but Marco that was. He was able to go out and do something. All of the commanders were in agreement that Marco would be practically unbearable if he hadn't been allowed this mission.

Maybe Izou’s speculation has more to it than they had given him credit for. If that was the case then it was all the more important that they get Ace back. In all the years of being on this crew Haruta had never seen Marco infatuated with anyone, not even going to a brothel. They thought about it, Marco would be good for Ace maybe even getting him to open up to the crew and Ace might get Marco to loosen up.

Pop’s door loomed bigger than it ever had before. Not knowing what the meeting was about was making it worse. Ellie gave an encouraging thumbs up from behind. Haruta took in a deep breath and knocked, once, twice, three times.

“Enter.”

Haruta opened the door just wide enough for them to slip in before closing it quietly, “you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Pops looked out of his window.

They took a seat across from their father and swung their legs. Patience wasn’t a particular strength of theirs, but in this case the longer the conversation was put off the better. They could at least think of what to  say, even though they didn’t have the question. _Man this really bites._

“Haruta,” they jumped at being addressed, “has there been any odd chatter in the information channels?”

“Odd? How do you mean? Nothing normal ever happens in the New World.”

Pops rubbed his mustache, “anything stand you to you?”

They thought about it for a moment, there was a lot of information daily, but it was usual run of the mill stuff. Where the marines are, the situations on some of their territories, movements of the Revolutionary army, Pirate crews and their locations. _Ah._

“Drum island had a crew drop someone off recently and rumors say there’s an unknown vessel heading that direction. Could be a meet up.”

“Hm,” Pops raised an eyebrow, “what was said about the man being dropped off?”

Haruta shrugged, “a civilian. A doctor from East Blue. Even in the turmoil it isn’t unheard of for medical professionals to study there.”

“And this vessel?”

“Well local tavern keepers have only been able to get their destination, and the sightings are frequent but it seems like the crew is rushed. With a lot of medical supplies being bought.”

“Could be a sick crew member seeking treatment,” Whitebeard's voice was heavy, “is that the only unusual information you have?”

“Things have been pretty quiet lately,” Haruta felt like they just failed a test.

The sigh that Pop’s let out was long and exhausted.

“Pops?” They moved to sit on the edge of their seat, “what is it you wanted me to find?”

“I was seeing if the crew had been bragging about capturing one of my sons.”

That made sense. Haruta shook their head, “nothing like that. They’re smart, I’ll give them credit for that. Has Marco found anything?”

Pops shook his head, “no. He’s returning back to the ship. We’ll have to plan from there.”

“We’ve lost the trail?” Haruta whispered.

“It seems like that's the case.”

They shook their head, hand going over their mouth. It was impossible, they were one of the most well informed crews on the sea, how could they lose the one ship that actually mattered. Something had to come forward for them. Haruta thought harder on if they had heard anything. The only thing sticking out was the Drum Island business, but that had nothing to do with them.

Was there nothing that they could do? A horrifying thought circled around Haruta’s heart.

_Have we lost Ace permanently?_

* * *

Ace felt light, lighter than he ever had before. He’d just been given his next dose of medicine and the pain fled his body. It was heaven, anything was heaven compared to the pain he was in. Something prodded in the back of his mind that he shouldn’t be so willing to subject himself to this medication, but the more pain filled part of his brain smothered it.

There was still someone moving around the room, whoever it was that gave him the medicine. Things clattered together and he ignored them. Pleasant heat was coursing through his veins.

“How is he?” A new voice, or maybe he had been there the entire time.

“Completely claimed by it, sir.”

“Really?”

Something jostled him and he only knew that he moved because his head bounced harmlessly against the ground. Or at least he was pretty sure that he was still on the ground. _Huh._ And then the thought vanished.

“He won’t remember a thing in this state.”

“Good. Then he won’t cause any problem when we exchange him at Drum Island.”

 _An island made of drums? Weird. Wonder if Marco knows about it?_ He stilled, that name registered, but he wasn’t sure why. _Marco? Yoi!_

Ace dissolved into a fit of giggles, who the hell says _yoi?_ What did it even mean? The two men stopped talking and the there was a loud bang and Ace was left alone still giggling. Again part of him worried about this, he thought there was something wrong with his ribs and that he shouldn’t be moving them too much.

The giggling went on for what seemed like hours before he was out of breath and sleepy. His head dropped completely to the ground and the rest of his body relaxed as well. Ace’s eyes started drooping and he didn’t feel like fighting it. The dreams he would have would be as pleasant as the feeling currently coursing through him.

* * *

Since Chopper had told her of the pirates coming a week ago Kureha had been keeping an eye on the docks. The last thing they needed was a group of pirates wrecking their already ruined livelihood. What she would do if they did show up, well she wasn’t entirely sure.

There was that long ago gotten  den-den mushi number of Whitebeard’s she had, nothing would deter pirates more than seeing any of the Whitebeard Pirates arrive at the island. Though, there was the question of if he would even remember her, she had been younger and he had been barely able to maintain a presence on the Grandline with his captain’s crew.

It was the only thing that could save this pathetically cold island she called home.

Though that man could’ve just been talking and the threat was just that. Still she would keep her eye on those arriving.

“Doctorine?”

She turned to face the reindeer, “hm?”

“Will the pirates be like Doctor?” Chopper tilted his head.

Kureha turned her gaze back out of the window, “probably not.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“The nice pirates are the outliers, most that have taken to the sea were the wrong sorts.”

Chopper looked crestfallen. She understood why, even if that quack hadn’t been an actual doctor he still called himself a pirate, Jolly Roger and all.

“If you decide to ever leave this island as a pirate, make sure you find one like that quack’s to serve under.”

“Okay!”

“Are those ointments finished yet?”She laughed when she heard the squeak and rapid tapping of hooves down the hallway.

 _A month, hm._ Kureha frowned, she didn’t know that man’s time table but she could assume that the pirates would be punctual. Chopper’s source had also said to watch the newspapers, she wondered what kind of sign he would be getting.

Dwelling on things she could do nothing about helped no one, so she instead turned around to go find where her apprentice went and make sure he hadn’t completely ruined the ointments.

Honestly, she just wished this whole age of pirates was over with. Roger and Whitebeard going at it had been enough for her to last a lifetime. Every other crew was just blowing hot air out.

* * *

**+7 days**

* * *

Two weeks and they were back where they started. They had lost some time on the trip back, the tailwind they had all been pleased about had turned against them, or it was more accurate to say that it hadn’t changed. Marco was about two seconds from flying off of the ship himself in search for Ace.

Really the only thing holding him back was experience. He knew how bad the New World could get, and there was a chance that he might not even find his way back to the Moby if he got disoriented. However the moment that they had a clear destination all bets were off.

Izou came up beside him, “your brooding is ruining whatever good mood is still on this ship.”

Marco snorted, “sorry, yoi.”

“It’s understandable. We don’t have a single lead on this organization. There’s nothing on them, we know they’re good, but so are we.”

On some level he knew that, but in practice he couldn’t find his optimism, “it’s like trying to find a ghost.”

Izou nodded, “but we’ll find the ghost and then beat them up.”

“What about Ace, yoi? We don’t even know his condition or what they’re planning on doing with him.”

“Haruta is keeping an eye on the bounty checkpoint, also they keep listening for anything suspicious that could be them.”

Behind them the usual pre-docking rush was ending as the boardwalks drew closer.  Marco narrowed his eyes, there was a man running towards them waving his arms, apparently trying to get their attention.

That usually never was a good sign, a civilian wanting the attention of pirates. Maybe it was the desperation, but Marco leapt of the ship and glided down to meet the man about halfway. Izou called after him and then called for Thatch.

The man didn’t even wait for him to straighten up,“oh, thank the gods you’re back. I had thought that you had left port for good and then I would’ve felt horrible-”

“Slow down, I don’t understand a word you’re saying,” Marco said.

“Okay,” he took a long deep breath, “you’re part of the crew that was here a while ago? Asking about that Ace kid?”

Marco’s heart started beating faster in anticipation, could it really be information? “That was us, yoi. Why?”

“Well, when your people were asking around I didn’t put the two and two together until your ship had left port. I’m Wallace the dock master here, I know every ship that enters my port. Only they aren’t all as memorable as your fine ship. What kind of wood is she made out of?”

Izou and Thatch appeared behind Marco, and he thanked them silently for the reminder to not lose his cool.

“You were saying about Ace?” Marco tried to steer the conversation back to one that was helpful.

“Right, right. Sorry. Just haven’t talked to a pirate before, much less legends like you lot,” Wallace smiled apologetically, “so this Ace kid, he’s the one on the poster?”

Marco only raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it hadn’t occurred to me when you were asking about ships that had been docked recently, but there was one that hadn’t docked but set anchor out near the coral reef and several skiffs landed on the beach throughout the day.”

He shared a look with his brothers. This could be something.

“These skiffs, what stuck out about them?” Thatch stepped forward.

“Well, they were there all day for one. Skiffs are usually meant for quick stops you know, don’t have to bring in the big ship and dock only to leave an hour later.”

“That’s it?”

Izou elbowed Thatch.

“Well, no. I went inside the dock house for maybe five minutes round midnight, and when I came out they were all heading to the ship. Every one of them. There was blood on the sand too.”

“You’re certain, yoi?”

Wallace grinned proudly, “smelled it myself.”

Marco wasn’t going to get into that, “do you remember anything about that ship? Its flag, a name, an usual body style?”

“Er, well,” Wallace stepped back, “my memory is pretty foggy.”

It was only with a great amount of patience that Marco didn’t phoenix punch (Thatch’s term) this man. He was one of those people. Willingly gave out information for a price. Honestly Macro wouldn’t have been surprised if Wallace wasn’t the one to sell out their location in the first place.

However, Izou’s patience had run out. He pulled and cocked his pistol in one fluid motion, “I hope this jogs your memory.”

Wallace swallowed, “I believe it does. The flag, it was one of those skull ones. Black, and it had handcuffs behind the skull with beli symbols in the eyes.”

That was something they could work with. They had to track down that ship.

Marco turned and began to walk back to the ship, Thatch turned with him.

Izou however had one last question, “which way did it head?”

“Back towards the Red Line.”

“Let’s go Izou, he’s not worth the bullet.” Thatch called.

“I don’t know, he could’ve sold out Ace in the first place, and he didn’t bother mentioning this the first time that we asked.”

As much as he agreed with his brother, he knew that Thatch also had a point, “we can’t kill him, yoi. If we cause trouble then we’ll just get delayed by the marines.”

Izou stared the man down for a few more seconds before he uncocked the gun and turned to fall in step with his brothers.

As they returned to the Moby, Marco heard the rapid beat of footsteps. They’d probably have to wait awhile before they returned to this particular island. It wasn’t that big of a loss to Marco personally, but it was a convenient place for supplies.

That was fiddling with his hands. _3...2...1..._

“Do you think that’s them? The ones that took Ace?”

Marco shrugged, trying to project the calm that he was usually known for, “I don’t know who else it could be, yoi.”

“Either way,” Izou sighed, “is our only clue.”

“It’s a flag. Flags change, it might have even been a decoy,” Thatch muttered darkly.

“Again, we don’t have anything else,” Izou countered.

Thatch fell silent. It was rare for the chef to be so negative. Marco knew it was because everything seemed to be false or a dead end, but he knew that if they lost hope now, Ace would never be found. The Whitebeard Pirates never gave up on family.

He lept up to the railing, leaving behind the ensuing argument that would occur.

Jozu jumped at his sudden appearance, “thought you three would be gone for awhile.”

“There was somebody with information, yoi,” Marco shook his head.

“Helpful.”

“Aren’t they always? They seem to always know when people are willing to pay for information.”

“And did you?” Jozu raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not, yoi. Do you know where Haruta is?”

“They were with Jiru.”

Marco leapt off of the railing, “thanks.”

Finding Haruta, as always was a challenge. Despite being on the ship longer, it felt like he didn’t know it at all. How Ace navigated it better would forever be a mystery. No. It’d be something that he would ask after they got Ace back.

Jiru had shook his head apologetically, informing him that Haruta had just left. Marco sighed,  even though Haruta was short they certainly disappeared quickly. Just as he was about to show his frustration he felt the presence he was looking for a few doors away.

He hadn’t checked their room... Was he really losing his edge that much? Marco shook off the feeling and moved towards the door.

“Who is it?” Their voice was muffled.

“Marco, yoi.”

There was some shuffling and then the door opened. Haruta looked like a mess, pale skin (paler than usual) and bags underneath their eyes. Honestly, they looked as exhausted as Marco felt.

“Yes?” Haruta said after a few seconds.

“We’ve got new information. The flag of a ship, yoi.”

They perked up, “really? What is it?”

“A pirate flag, skull with handcuffs behind it and beli symbols in the eyes,” Marco said.

“Okay. I’ll go through my reports again and have my network looking for any signs.”

“After you sleep, yoi.”

“What?” The blinked, “but-”

Marco held up a hand, “you’re no good to anyone if you’re tired. Any delays you cause by resting will be far less than having to keep going through the information because you miss something.”

Haruta didn’t look convinced, “on two conditions.”

“Sure, yoi.”

“One, I get my network looking for this ship first. Two, you have to rest as well.”

“I can’t-”

They held up a hand, “you’re no good to anyone if you’re tired. Only if you’re tired it's not delays it’ll cost us, but lives. Besides, Izou keeps worrying about the lack of sleep you’re getting and that’s making everyone worry.”

Marco frowned. Haruta had a point about him being needed in the fight, and if Izou was worrying then it must be obvious. Really he couldn’t argue, well he could but it would just be for the sake of stubbornness.

“Fine.”

“All right! Settle on the bed.”

Maybe he _was_ more sleep deprived than he thought, “what?”

“This way we both know we’re fulfilling the agreement!”

“And stop the nightmares?” Marco guessed.

Haruta grinned sheepishly. Marco rolled his eyes in fondness. The bed was small and he knew it would be cramped but if it helped both of them then it would be worth it. They just needed the sleep.

About an hour later Haruta crawled in the bed next to him, the phoenix had been dozing lightly and was woken up by the sudden movement. Without a word he shifted to give his younger sibling more room. It wasn’t much longer before Haruta was snoring softly and it was only minutes afterwards that Marco fell into a dreamless sleep.

-

It was well past dinner when they both finally awoke. Actually Haruta was already up flipping through papers. Marco yawned and stretched before watching his sibling in curiosity.

“How long have you been up?” He asked after five minutes went by and there was no change.

“Uh. Not long,” Haruta responded.

There was a moment of disbelief, but Marco let it slide. Haruta had tried to rest and obviously this was important. Instead he let the other work while he watched. The crushing exhaustion had faded into just a weariness, so the rest had done him some good like he had thought. A quick glance out of the window told him that it was the middle of the night. _Looks like we’ll have to raid the kitchens. Ace usually gets away with it, wonder how he does it._

“Ah-ha!”

Marco’s eyes snapped to Haruta in surprise.

“I knew I wasn’t crazy! Marco! I knew it!”

“I’m doubting that claim at the moment, yoi. What did you find?”

Haruta frowned at him, “the flag.”

 _The flag? What- Oh! That flag!_ “What do you mean?”

The commander shifted from foot to foot. It was obviously important and they didn’t want to be held up in their report. Marco raised an eyebrow and Haruta stilled,they were currently superior and subordinate not siblings.

“The flag earlier sounded familiar. I told Pops about it a few days ago, maybe a week ago.”

Marco made a go-on gesture.

“Well, there was reports of a pirate ship that seemed to be heading towards Drum Island.”

“That’s in the Grand Line, right?”

“Yeah. Known for their doctors. Anyway, I remember reading a description of the ship from a port town in Alabasta.”

Marco tilted his head in a very bird-like fashion, “why did Pops want to know about that?”

Haruta shrugged, “he just asked about anything unusual. Pirates heading to Drum is in that category.”

“Well,” Marco stood up, “let’s go tell Pops and see if we’re turning our ship back towards the Grand Line. That won’t worry any marines at all.”

* * *

Ace blinked slowly when he heard the door open. This wasn’t in the routine, the painkiller was barely wearing off, and they had been increasing the time between each. He tilted his head in confusion.

“There he is.”

 _Ah. Boss dude._ Ace kept his mouth shut, even in his pleasantly buzzed state he still couldn’t trust this guy.

Fingers pressed under his chin, causing Ace’s head to be lifted (with less resistance than he usually would like). Suddenly they were wrapped around his neck squeezing.

“I don’t want you talking. Just listen boy.”

Ace kicked out weakly at the nickname.

“Ah-ah, none of that, or we’ll make you scream.”

The fight had drained him anyway, he hadn’t been feeling right lately. Sickly. Like he was burning and it wasn’t because he was on fire. _A fever?_

“Good boy,” the boss chuckled, “now since you haven’t given us any trouble I figured it was time for a reward.”

Ace wanted to ask for his chains to be off, he couldn’t run with how he was feeling but all that came out of his mouth was a gasp.

“You don’t get to decide what you’re reward is,” the fingers tightened, “what you get is some information. I figured you would like to know who sold you out, hm?”

Truthfully, he did want to know. How anyone had figured it out was beyond him. Even Marco and Jared had only known because he outright told them (his former first mate had suspected, but that was only because they were in close quarters). A person that could figure out he was blind could figure out that he was Roger’s son, and he wanted _that_ information floating around less than he wanted the blindness rumor.

“Well, I think you’re familiar with a Doctor Connor?”

 _Doctor Connor..._ the name was ringing faint bells, but he couldn’t place a face or a place in which they had met. Was it the doctor that had told Marco about his blindness? That didn’t seem right.

“I believe he was the first person that you told about your eyesight.”

 _Oh! What?_ Ace gasped and the fingers tightened. He was going light-headed.

“So you do remember him?” The boss man sounded unconcerned, “it's strange to learn that everyone is out for themselves. Even the doctors.”

Ace couldn’t comment that he had learned that long ago. Still there was a mild sting of betrayal. Doctor Connor hadn’t been anyone to him, just a means to an end, but he had trusted him enough not to blurt one of his darkest secrets to the universe. He knew he couldn’t tell anyone because he had figured out that a situation exactly like this would happen.

No one else was going to learn his secret. Not even Whitebeard and Marco would never learn his other one if he had any say in that. There was too many cards stacked against him so he had to play his close to his chest. In the end had he ever trusted the Whitebeards? Ace had felt the pressure to come clean about his father because he was worried about what would happen if it came to the surface on his own and the other time had been an accident.

So, no. He hadn’t trusted them and now he felt horrible about that. From what he knew they all had some level of trust in him and he couldn’t return it.

How fucked up that the curse of his father was preventing him from living like how he wanted.

“You see now? You’ll never be anything more than a means to an end. I bet those pirates only took you on because you could fight against Jinbei and have the Mera-Mera no Mi. We all know they’d toss you out on your ass if they found out about your eyes.”

Marco hadn’t, so that was a blatant lie. Then again it seemed like Marco was a little bit of an outlier when it came to things his family did. Though, the reasons for him joining had really never been explained properly. Whitebeard had just wanted him as a son.

Strength means everything in the New World.

The boss seemed satisfied as Ace’s throat was released.

“I suppose this lesson on trust came a little too late. Considering you'll be dead in less than two weeks.”

With that the door shut ominously, cloaking Ace in darkness.

He shook his head. Clearly the man had been messing with him. A last ditch effort to get a rise out of a docile prisoner. It had been effective, hitting in all of the week points in his armor.

Not to mention if the Whitebeards had meant to save him, then he would've been saved by now. They wouldn't let a slight like this stand.

Had he been a more paranoid person he might even think that someone else was going to get a piece of his bounty.

_No, Ace. The Whitebeards let you know if they're going to take you out._

He bent down to try and ease the burning of his face.

_Though they might let a kidnapping slide if they didn't care about the person._

Two weeks. That seemed like an eternity. More than enough time to beg forgiveness for whatever sins he's committed and damn his captors and father to hell.

At least the burning feeling was soothed by the tears rolling down his cheeks.

-

Ace awoke slowly, he had to bite his lip as a wave of pain hit him and curled into himself when his muscles had started to convolse. He blacked out.

When he finally came back he was more sore than he had been previously.He spat out whatever had been in his mouth. It felt it a little frothy. Shivers wracked his body causing the pain to increase.

The painkillers hadn’t been given to him yet, that much he knew. Those would take away the pain but he would have the warring temperatures problem. His stomach twisted and he ended up dry-heaving. Once that passed he collapsed.

Something by the door slid open.

“Is he dead?”

“No.”

“Okay. Good.”

It clicked shut.

Ace whined pitifully. He wanted some kind of human interaction, preferably someone to rub his head like had done for his brothers when they were sick. Though he would take anything to make him feel like he wasn’t the only person in the world.  If he got out of here, then he swore that he would be more social with the crew.

Provided they even wanted him back.

* * *

Tyson leaned back in his chair. The prisoner was getting sicker. Their ship doctor assured him it was nothing fatal, but the guards had told him that it appeared that he had had a seizure.

The drug had kept him calm but the area around the prisoner’s finger nails had begun to yellow. They had to stop the treatment lest they cause more damage. However, the organ damage might be worth it if it kept him alive. It was only the short term they were looking at after all.

He’d make the call in a couple of days. The ship was only a couple of weeks from Drum, but Tyson was rethinking his lack of medical interference.

Ah, well, he shrugged, hindsight was twenty-twenty.

* * *

“You’re certain of the reports?”

Haruta nodded their head vigorously, “of course, but to be one hundred percent certain I would have to confirm it myself.”

“But how do we know the dockmaster was speaking the truth?” Namur asked.

Fossa shrugged, “there’s no profit in him continuing to lie. No one would go that far to throw someone of their trail. Two weeks in most cases would be enough.”

“And if we don’t move it could be weeks before we get any new news,” Jiru responded.

“Besides, I’d be keeping my networks looking for any other sign,” Haruta spoke up again.

Whitebeard nodded along to each of the arguments, each of them had a point. Still, even with all of the lies going around Drum was their only solid lead. It would be a risk, a month of travel time at least, and they’d be leaving the New World. Someone could take advantage of that and he’d be too far away to respond.

Those two weeks had hurt them as Fossa said. There really wasn’t a choice.

“We’ll head to Drum unless any new information surfaces.”

Several of the commanders made noises of agreement, others were just content to finally have a solid plan.It was better than the waiting and aimless drifting.

“Plot a course, the fastest one. Inform some of the other crews to watch our territories while we’re out in the Grand Line. Prepare to depart at dawn.”

His children stood up and began to fulfill the orders. Whitebeard would let them figure out the details.

“Marco,” he called after seeing his eldest walk slowly towards the door, “wait a moment.”

If anything was as worrying as Ace’s disappearance it was Marco’s health. His first mate settled himself back down in a nearby chair. After everyone had left Marco raised an eyebrow.

“When we get a week out from Drum, I want you to fly ahead. Scout the terrain.”

“Of course, yoi.”

“And should there be hostiles, do not engage,” Whitebeard held Marco’s gaze, “they have the ability or the gear to take out a logia. No one should fight them alone.”

Marco nodded. It made sense, but that didn’t mean he would have to like it. Even though he was known for his calm personality, he was itching for a fight. Not to mention they didn’t know what kind of condition Ace would be in.

That was still three weeks away. Three very long weeks.

Since Pops hadn’t said anything else he assumed that he was dismissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Hope you enjoyed. Its on the shorter end, but since I actually updated I feel as though I get a pass? I've been working on this chapter periodically since the last time that I updated and so my style may switch in the middle of the work and I apologize for that. I attempted to make it consistent and grammatically correct. But alas I am a single person. Leave your thoughts or kudos below!


	11. Drum(island) roll please!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things go south, which is where birds should be heading in the Winter. Also Marco cares too much and it causes problems. Also Ace doesn't have much to say throughout this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *is totally not putting off homework to work on this chapter.* Hello yes, another quick turn around and I promise I won't vanish for months this time before posting the next chapter. I think we're nearing the end, though I'll see how these next few chapters will end up. There will be an epilogue and then I'm moving on and this will be a completed story which will be nice. But like I said we'll see the reactions and how the chapters go. Now. Onto the chapter!  
> Wait, guess what? I actually passed 7k words again. Yay~!

* * *

**+3 weeks** .

* * *

A week ago he had been moved from his cell to a much more comfortable location, well in theory it was more comfortable. He was still fluctuating between feeling too hot, too cold, or numb. Ace knew that one of his wounds was infected, he could smell the pus, and he figured that’s probably what was making him so sick. It hurt to breathe as well, and every exhale sounded wheezy and wet.

If he didn’t get to a doctor soon he would probably die, even if for some reason they took the cuffs out he doubted he’d be able to burn the infection out. This was a waiting game now.

“What do you mean you don’t want to risk moving him?” That was a familiar voice.

“He’s injured and sick,” another voice replied, “our doctor says the infection has spread throughout his body.

_ Don’t know that voice. _

“You’re doing a task for a doctor, why wouldn’t you call me?”

_ A doctor? Why did that feel important? _

“We figured since you want him dead you wouldn’t want to treat him.”

“I wanted this done as legally possible,” the man said, “I’ll treat him to the point of keeping him alive.”

A door creaked open and Ace struggled to turn his head toward the noise. Not that he could see anything... were his eyes closed? It was too much energy to try to open them.

Noises faded out after a pain in his chest and he wasn’t sure if he passed out from that or if it was a sleep attack.

The next time he came to he didn’t feel as hot as previously and he wasn’t shaking terribly. He guessed that someone had helped him while he was passed out. At least his symptoms were gone for the moment. He could think clearly now, not that it was helping him out at the moment. The only thing that’s changed since a month ago was his location and comfort level. Even his want to flee hadn’t decreased.

Feeling more stable Ace pushed himself up, there was a tugging on his wrist and his head started to spin.  _ Still pretty weak. Can’t fight my way out of this place, even if I could where would I go?  _

Out of curiosity he moved his legs around and let them swing off of the bed. The ground felt sturdy, no pitching. He was off the ship?

Slowly he attempted to stand up. Almost immediately his knees began shaking, but he could get himself upright. His range of motion was limited however, his arm was already being pulled behind him from the cuff.

Frustration set in. All he had wanted to was live freely, he never asked to be a target. He wished he could see and maybe figure out how to save himself, as it stood he’d either become completely blind or this room was in complete darkness.

He really hoped it was the latter, but the not knowing was killing him.

* * *

Kureha had watched the pirate ship since it arrived. So far they hadn’t caused any trouble, citing a sick crew member and they were only looking for a doctor. Which had come in the form of the stranger since no doctor would oust themselves for a pirate.

The crew had alternated between their ship and then inn. However, it was the captain that had her unsettled, he was average in every way, a person that would easily be forgotten or if described could be a hundred others. His eyes were what set him apart, Kureha had gotten close enough to him to see how cold they were. Another greedy man after Roger’s treasure no doubt.

She had to ask, why would a man like that care about a sick crew member?

The stranger had bothered her as well, he was too willing to help them. Even if he wasn’t in danger of being killed by Wapol, he was still aiding pirates. If the marines got wind of that, his career would be over. It was a big risk.

... Maybe she should visit the patient or try too.

“Chopper! I’m going into town.”

“Aye!”

On the way to town she saw a curious sight. A blue bird that appeared to be on fire circling over head.  Kureha frowned, she knew of a pirate that could turn into a bird like that. A Whitebeard here of all places? Something else was at work. She climbed the nearest snow mound to see where the bird would go.

It seemed to hover around the dock before apparently landing. The pirate ship was the problem, if it truly was The Phoenix. Kureha shrugged, she hadn’t stayed alive this long by not knowing what was going on.

The town was in an uproar by the time she got there. Dalton was trying to calm down a group of citizens when she approached him.

“Dalton, we need to get these pirates to leave!” One citizen cried.

A woman followed up on that, “they’ve brought a Whitebeard here! Who's to say the rest of the crew won’t follow?”

Dalton raised his hands, “I’ll ask them to leave, but I doubt they will with how sick their crewmate seems to be. Maybe this Whitebeard is acting alone?”

Kureha doubted it, sure it was a possibility, but she knew which one was gracing them with his presence. He was the one that was off the Moby Dick the least. This must be serious.

“Dalton,” she called.

The citizen’s turned in surprise at her appearance. She didn’t blame them. Dalton merely raised his eyebrow and left the group to come over to her.

“Yes?”

She looked around, “do they seem like the type to stir up trouble?”

“They’re pirates,” Dalton shrugged, “but they aren’t the types like the rumors say about Whitebeard or Red Hair.”

“So do you think they’re hiding something or they’re really just in a layover with a sick crew member?”

Dalton pursed his lips, “their crew member is sick, the innkeeper can attest to that, but beyond that I can’t say. I’m more concerned about what The Phoenix could do to us.”

Kureha rolled her eyes behind her glasses. Whitebeard Pirates wouldn’t cause trouble without a good reason. He was the one she needed to talk to, or rather, he was the one that would probably talk.

She turned to leave as Dalton had been distracted by another group of concerned citizens. If she was right, then The Phoenix had landed a few miles outside of the village on its western side.

Hopefully she was right about the type of people Whitebeard took in. She shrugged and headed towards where she last saw the pirate.

The forest was much calmer than it was usually, as if the animals were hiding. Kureha slowed down, not that it would help her. The Phoenix would know she’s coming in that uncanny way haki users had. Her own haki wouldn’t be much help with sensing him, as weak as it was in comparison. All she could feel were the small critters.

It was nearly too late by the time she felt the presence, The Phoenix landed in front of her his blue wings blazing but burning nothing. He didn’t exactly live up to the rumors.

“Why are you following me? I heard you talking, yoi,” his head tilted.

Kureha observed him, he felt powerful but his eyes were calm. She wasn’t afraid of him, “considering who you are, you can’t blame people for talking.”

The Phoenix crossed his arms, “few rarely chase after me.”

“Can’t imagine they would, not many people are like me,” she grinned.

“Hm, that so, yoi?” He leaned against a tree, “so what, you’re a leader of the village?”

“No, I’m a doctor concerned about potential patients.”

“We won’t harm the civilians,” strangely enough she believed the pirate.

“But you’ll harm the pirates?”

“If it comes to it,” The Phoenix shrugged, “they took someone from us.”

She felt like she could trust him, pirate feuds happen frequently. Besides, she wanted those pirates off of the island.

“They claim to have a sick crew member.”

The Phoenix perked up, she wasn’t sure how she knew that because nothing changed outwardly, but his whole aura changed. 

“Keep the village in one piece, these people have suffered enough without having to worry about property damage.”

He nodded, “we’ll try.”

That would have to be enough.

* * *

Marco watched the old woman go. Obviously she wasn’t only a doctor, most wouldn’t go near a pirate of their own choice. She had given him a warning and a hint. He’d have to mention her to Pops.

The pirate ship’s Jolly Roger was clear over the trees, it matched the description to a T. Marco hadn’t gotten close enough to hear or see and of the crew, which was his next task. People on this island had begun pointing at him in his bird form so he had to land before he lost the element of surprise. Most were happy to overlook a stranger, especially if he hid his mark and just stayed out of trouble.

He need to let Pops know he landed and they had the right ship at least. The snail phone woke up after he poked it once and after two rings Pops picked up.

“Marco, I trust you arrived safely?”

“Yes, yoi. The Jolly Roger matches the description.”

“That information was accurate at least,” he could hear the relief in his father’s voice.

“The citizen’s are worried about pirates, I won’t be able to move freely in my Phoenix form. Rumor has it however, that they have a sick crew member, yoi.”

The was a short pause, “move with caution, see if you can learn anything about this ill crew member.”

“Of course, yoi.” 

“Namur says we’ll hit a strong current and that the wind should be turning to a tailwind.”

“You’ll be here earlier then?”

“Perhaps,” Pops answered shortly, there was a loud noise in the background, “if there’s not anything else I think tempers have finally reached a boiling point.”

“Not that I can think of.”

The call clicked off and Marco was left alone with a lot more questions that he previously had. Things had been tense when he left, Thatch was moody and Izou was snippy and everyone was feeding off of that and adding it to the fact Ace was still missing... yeah, there was going to be some damage to the ship that wasn’t caused by enemies.

Marco shrugged, he didn’t like that his siblings were fighting among each other but there was nothing that he could do about it at the moment. However, he could go gather information. With any luck he wouldn’t have been noticed by any of the pirates and they would ignore him. That probably wasn’t going to happen knowing his luck.

Either way he needed a place to stay. As a precaution he swapped out his usual purple jacket and blue sash for a closed green coat and black belt. Nothing could change his hair however, hopefully no one would be looking too close.

Snow crunched underfoot and more began to fall. Marco wrinkled his nose, snow always reminded him of Wano; a place that he’d rather never go back to. The animals had calmed down from his landing and were running around on the path ahead of him.

A short time later the village was in full view. The citizen’s had gone back to normal for the most part but he could tell they were scared. Groups of pirates leaned against walls. Marco noticed that they appeared calm.  _ So they don’t know or don’t care that I’m here.  _

He slipped into the inn. More pirates were scattered around inside. These pirates were far more alert, Marco made eye contact with one but the man only scowled. It was very strange to not be recognized.

“Can I help you?” A man showed up behind the counter.

“Do you have any rooms left?” Marco smiled, “I seem to have arrived at a busy time.”

“We do, but I’d rather not lend one to you. My other guests aren’t the friendly sort.”

Marco shrugged, glancing around the room nonchalantly, “tell them that if they have a problem they can take it up with me.”

“Your funeral... you have money?” The innkeeper jumped at a loud altercation.

He pulled out his coin purse and slid a reasonable (more than he would usually pay) amount over. The man checked it and decided that it was real.

A key was passed over the desk, “second floor, room number 4.”

After he grabbed it, Marco wandered towards the stairs. More people had begun to watch him, well the pirates were at least. That could prove problematic, especially if they wanted to get physical. He acted like he was oblivious to the stairs.

The second floor wasn’t anything special, a long hallway with four doors on each side. On the way to his room the smell of infection hit his nose.  _ So, someone really is sick. _

_ If they are, then they’re probably in that last room.  _ Marco raised an eyebrow in surprise. The walls weren’t flat like he had thought but had alcoves periodically and there was a person sitting in the one at the end of the hall. 

_ Guess that’s the room. _

Voices could be heard getting closer and Marco tilted his head to listen. One was familiar... The woman from earlier? Sure enough she was walking to an older man, who didn’t look like a native or much of anything really.

“I just can’t seem to beat this infection. We’re moving him soon, I worry he won’t be able to survive it.”

“I’ll take a look. You shouldn’t move him until he’s much healthier. Why rush?”

“The marines, they really want him.”

That was an odd way of phrasing that statement. Marco glanced at the woman who didn’t look at him. He’d just have to wait and listen to see when she left.

There wasn’t much he could do that wouldn’t cause him to miss the old woman leaving. He paused, wondering how he would pull that off without looking suspicious. The guard of the door surely noticed him hanging outside of his room and would be keeping a close eye on him. Of course he could always go out the window... he shook his head. Maybe there would be a guard change.

A few hours later and he was trying to get out of the window. The hinge had broken and one of the shutters kept slamming in his face as he perched himself in the window so he could transform his arms to his wings. Marco was really trying not to feel like he was a teenager again, sneaking out to see what Pops and the crew were doing.

Unfortunately the shame was a feeling one never let go of, even as he glided down to the snow-covered streets. He had heard the woman leave, she had something about there being very little she could do in the working conditions.

At least he’d know the identity of the sick crew member. It could be helpful.

The woman turned the corner and seemed unsurprised to seem him. If he wanted to hazard a guess, he would think she’s relieved.

“You said that lot took someone from you?”

Marco nodded, unsure of where this was going.

“Well, the kid in there had Whitebeard’s mark, don’t know if he left the crew though.”

_ The kid... Pop’s mark... could it be?  _

“What did it look like? What did he look like?”

The woman raised an eyebrow and removed her glasses from her eyes, “the tattoo was your Jolly Roger, big and purple on the back.”

_ It must be him. _

“He looked like a kid, long black hair, freckles,” she continued.

After so long it was that easy? “That’s him.”

She didn’t look surprised, “thought so.”

Marco was nearly trembling with the need to go back into the building and save his brother. Pops’ warning rang in his head. He didn’t know anything about them. It could prove problematic if he rushed in... but Ace was  _ right there.  _

“He’s in a bad way,” the old woman continued, “if they moved him like they say they are he won’t survive. You don’t have the time to wait if you want to save his life.”

“When are they going to move him?”

“Tomorrow or the next day.”

_ Well, shit.  _ Their time table was cut down significantly. In theory the current turning would only put them a day out, which they could easily make up, but to let them move Ace might end up being a fatal mistake.

It wasn’t often Marco disobeyed Pops’ direct orders, but it was looking like he didn’t have a choice.

“You get him out of there I’ll treat him,” the woman smirked, “and for my kindness I’ll no longer be indebted to your father.”

...  _ What... Who is the woman?  _ “Where will you be?”

As if she had expected the question she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. He half thought it was a Vivre Card even though they were rare in Paradise. Instead, it was a poorly drawn map. It had enough landmarks that he didn’t think there would be any issues in finding the place, he just wouldn’t ever use it as an actual map.

“Save your friend, Phoenix.”

He nodded. Should this woman actually be acquainted with Pops, then he could at least confirm that she wasn’t going to betray him the moment he lets her treat Ace.

“I will.”

The woman once again walked away, clearly she was finished with the conversation. It was refreshing to see someone not afraid of pirates that was a civilian. However, the townspeople seemed to avoid the woman like she was some type of thief.

Not that he was picky about where his help came from.  _ Speaking of that, how was he going to get Ace out of that room?  _

His only ally was the old woman who was only going to help him later. None of the townsfolk looked like they wanted to get involved, and with their current political climate he was sure they wanted to watch their own neck more. The pirates didn’t seem overly skilled, but they had taken Ace out who went toe-to-toe with a Warlord. So he’d work under the assumption they had haki and seastone. Their haki would be less of a problem than the seastone, but he was faster than most people thought.

Not to mention he had the element of surprise.  The pirates were a non issue. It was not causing more damage to Ace.  Moving him was dangerous, but Marco knew he didn’t have a choice.

The sun was almost setting, night would be helpful in covering his tracks but not hiding a glowing bird. It’d have to be a direct assault. He’d strike when the guards were changing, providing they had something like that. Considering the size of the building the struggle would be heard. There would be maybe half a minute before the first person climbed the stairs.

It just wouldn’t be a clean rescue.

_ Pops will understand once I explain it to him. _

Marco leapt back up to his window, using his wings only once to soften the sound. He scanned his belongings for anything he absolutely needed to bring along: the den-den for sure, his money would probably come in handy, and Ace’s hat.

When had that gotten into his bag? Last time he had seen it was when Thatch pulled it out the day they found out Ace was missing. Another mystery for another day. He slipped the snail and money into one of his pockets and hung the hat around his neck.

Several hours later he heard someone climb the steps.

“No change?” One voice asked.

“Nothing. Watch that room though, that dude gives off some bad vibes.”

Marco shrugged, he didn’t care about being noticed at this point.

After waiting a little longer, he cracked open the door to see the guard. He was slumped in the chair and was snoring loudly.  _ A blessing I’ll be happy to take. _

He snuck past the sleeping man, before deciding against leaving him alive. Should he wake up while he’s rescuing Ace it’d cause problems like reinforcements. It wasn’t like he was opposed to killing, it was just usually done with talons. Thankfully Marco had the dagger that Atmos had given him on him. Which slid out of the sheath with a quiet shwing. The guard stirred and before he could settle back down Marco drew the blade across the man’s neck. Blood dripped out of the slice lazily. 

“Hey! What are you doing?”

_ Shit. I knew this was too easy. _

Marco turned around slowly, flipping the blade in his grip.

“Nothing much, yoi.”

“I had hoped you were just a curious civilian, but I’m afraid I’ll have to kill you.”

“A lot of people would like you for that.” 

The other pirate looked confused, before realization dawned across his face.

“You’re-”

Marco was behind him in a second, clamping on hand across the other’s mouth, “now, that’s not something you’ll be wanting to blurt out where someone could hear you.”

The man shivered and Marco snapped his neck; dropping the body to the ground when there was a pained groan from Ace’s room. He only realized his he’d been heard when someone called up the steps.

“Darell, what’s going on up there?”

Marco leapt over the body and headed towards the door. He’d rather outrun the pirates than having to fight all of them. It would take up too much time. A powerful kick sent the door off its hinges and Marco held his breath at the smell of infection.

People downstairs had started yelling after the crash and a glance towards the stairs showed men running up them. 

Though, Marco didn’t notice any of this as his eyes were glued to Ace’s beaten form. It was only another pained grunt that broke him out of his shock. There would be a time for him to assess the damage later, doing it now would only work him towards a Phoenix Rage.

He sprinted towards his injured brother, before changing course to fling open the window. The pirates had reached the door and were aiming the guns at him. Marco sent them and unimpressed look as he moved back towards Ace.

One of the first bullets fired at him he dodged with ease, and it imbedded itself in the wall. Grabbing Ace and not getting shot was the priority. That’s when he noticed the cuff.

That explained why Ace wasn’t burning this idiots to a crisp. Marco chewed on his lip, seastone wasn’t pleasant but if Ace wasn’t fully in control of the fire that could cause problems. With a heavily haki coated fist, Marco broke the chain connecting the cuff to the bed.

Whenever his first made contact he could feel his power waver for a second, which was enough for him to get hit in the shoulder with a bullet. He cursed. That stings. 

The pirates seemed surprised that they had actually hit him and for a few seconds stopped firing. It was all he needed to pick Ace up, and jump towards the window.

In his arms Ace whimpered in pain and Marco attempted to soothe him.

“I’m sorry, the pain will go away soon. I promise.” 

He landed roughly on the ground, losing his footing in the snow which cause him to slip. It was only a last second tightening of his grip that kept his brother from falling from his arms.

The others had regained their wits and were now firing on him once again. His haki was let him sense the bullets, but Marco changed his focus to sense for anyone pursuing him. The bullet wounds healed quickly.

One pierced his calf and this time he really did fall in the snow. Someone had wised up and put seastone into their guns, and then had gotten lucky because the shrapnel had lodged into his bone.

Marco turned and looked back at the window. A man stood there, the gun still trained on him. Not one thing stood out about him.

“Well, how’s this for a haul? Fire Fist and The Phoenix.”

* * *

There were three things that told Thatch that something was very wrong, had he not known the situation already. The first thing was that Pops wasn’t drinking Sake despite it being early afternoon, two was he was drinking green tea (which had his nurses thrilled, and three Marco had missed his check in.

Thatch could count on one hand the times Marco hadn’t called in on time. Even then he was only a few hours late, it had been over a day. Drum was hazy horizon.

Truthfully, he wanted someone to vent to, but no one was around to talk to. Haruta was busy with last minute intel, Izou wasn’t talking to him due to yesterday’s incident, and the rest of the commanders were steering clear to prevent another incident.

_ Two brothers missing? Who are these guys? _

Haruta let out a frustrated groan as they threw open the door. If Thatch had to guess, he would say it was another day of no information. It was unnerving that such a powerful group was anonymous.

A sigh escaped his lips, he was worried. Marco hadn’t been himself before leaving, but Thatch knew that his brother was their only hope of saving time. In times like this he wished there was another in their family that could keep pace with The Phoenix.

The only thing that he could do was hope that the Devil’s Fruit does it job of keeping his brother healthy... and that they would continue having this tailwind.

* * *

Chopper had come down to the edge of the village. Doctorine told him that she’d forgotten to gather a herb that grew on the outskirts. The whole situation with the pirates made her leave town in a hurry. He still didn't understand it completely.

As he neared the path, sounds deep in the forest put him on alert. They sounded like they came from a human... and smelled like it too. Was that blood? Panic surged in his chest and he dived to hide behind the tree. He shrunk down to his normal size. Maybe they were just hunters.

_ Wait I’m a deer. Oh no! _

Before he could run away the humans stumbled into the clearing. Once he saw them he could tell the blood was from them, and one was very sick. He shuffled from his cover a little more to see what was going on. Every doctor instinct in him screamed at him to go and try to fix them, but terror kept him from moving.

The blond human went down in the snow, staining it red, but his grip on the black-haired human didn’t lessen at all. That’s when Chopper noticed the large gash on his hand, which lead to him realizing there was another bullet wound on his upper arm.

His leg tensed, the sleigh wasn’t that far away. Maybe they would come back with him to see Doctorine to get treated.  _ Are they safe? I think they’re too hurt to be much trouble. _

It was the pained groan from the black haired man that drew Chopper’s attention. The man was pale but flushed even though he didn’t have a shirt on. There was an oozing wound on his back and busing that seemed to radiate from his front, sticking mainly to his ribs.

“Sorry Ace,” the blond man shushed.

Chopper stepped out from behind the tree fully and the blond haired man’s eyes snapped to him. There was something dangerous burning there, not to mention how fast he noticed another’s presence.

“W-w-wait, I can help!”

The man didn’t seem to believe him.

“I-I’m a doctor, well in training, but I know one! I’ll take you to her,” Chopper cried, “your friend, he really needs help. So do you, you’re bleeding.”

Chopper watched as the human glanced at his companion then at the sleigh. There was a lessening of heat in his gaze. Tentatively he stepped forward, not wanting to commit himself fully in case the man changed his mind.

“Okay, yoi,” was what he finally said after a long pause, “but you have to move quickly.” 

Nodding Chopper grew in size, which seemed to only cause the man to lose his composure for a second. The one called Ace stirred.

“Marco...”

The blond, now known as Marco perked up at the noise. Chopper was relieved that Ace seemed to be able to recognize who he was with, he was worried the fever was  messing with his brain.

Sensing that the hostile air had eased Chopper stepped forward, he was going to pick Ace up and put him into the sleigh before helping Marco to it. As he reached for Ace, the other one was suddenly pushing his body over his companions.

“Don’t take him from me!”

The sound was so animalistic that he had to step backwards. His own instincts were telling him to move away from the other, that Marco was some sort of apex predator. Though Chopper shook that off, he had patients to help.

“I won’t! I was only moving him, so that you could move more easily.”

Marco didn’t seem convinced. Chopper sighed, it would be easier to pick both of them up so that’s what he did. Ace moaned, but the other one remained quiet as they were carefully carried and placed in the back of the sleigh.

_ Doctorine won’t get mad if I’m saving people, right?  _ Chopper shook his head, a doctor’s duty was to his patients. These two needed help now, and the herb could be gotten at a later date.

With that thought in mind Chopper shifted into his run point and hooked the sleigh up to himself. When he was sure that he was secure he took off, running faster than he ever had before. He kept one ear pointed backwards to make sure that his patients were still alive and the other one listening ahead for any danger.

“Doctorine! Doctorine! I need help! There were people in the woods, and they were injured!” Chopper yelled.

The door cracked open to reveal Doctorine, a battle in hand, “what have I told you about bringing strange people here?”

He slowed down, “I’m sorry. But they weren’t going to make it if no one helped them.”

Slowly Doctorine walked towards the sleigh raising the bottle to her lips. Chopper watched her nervously, hoping that he wouldn’t have to take them away. He tilted his head in confusion when she appeared shocked. 

“He did it, and since the village seems to be intact he made good on his promise.” 

“Doctorine?”

She laughed, “fate sure is strange. It didn’t want those two to die this day!”

Chopper frowned. None of this was making sense, but it seemed like Doctorine was going to help them after all! Which was good, because he wasn’t sure he’d know how to treat Ace’s infection. Marco’s he could handle, so long as there wasn’t shrapnel in the bone.

Doctorine leaned over Marco, humming as she examined him.

Marco cracked open an eye and watched her warily. 

“Certainly got yourself in some trouble there, eh Phoenix?”

“His name is Marco!” Chopper supplied helpfully.

“I know that, who knew those guys carried sea stone. A New World group?”

“Yes, yoi.”

She nodded thoughtfully before ramming her thumb into the area around the bullet hole. Marco grunted in pain and glared at her.

Chopper shifted nervously back into his regular form.

“What the hell?” Marco groaned.

“No bone fractures in the lower leg,” Doctorine paused before pressing on the upper part of the shin, “none above either.”

Marco shook his head, “get the fragments out, all of them and I can heal myself.”

The jabbing had increased the flow of blood.

“Chopper, I need you to clean the wound and start removing the larger fragments. Use the clotting salve on him, I’ll worry about the smaller fragments when I’m done with his friend,” Doctorine ordered.

“He doesn’t like to be separated.”

The man began to nod in agreement before Doctorine brought her hand down to smack him.

“He’ll have to deal with it, unless he wants his friend to die because he couldn’t trust the  _ only  _ people to offer him help.”

That shut Marco’s mouth and Chopper’s jaw hit the floor.  _ Doctorine just stood up to him! Just like that! Even though he feels super strong! _

“Let this be a lesson to you, when it comes to treating patients, their feelings need to be considered but not coddled.”

“What type of doctor are you?” Marco murmured.

“One that’s about to save your friends life, remember our deal Phoenix.”

With that Doctorine picked up Ace with a strength the belied her size and left to take him into the part of their house they used for the more critical patients. Chopper was glad he had the urge to clean it last week and there wasn’t a layer of dust.

Marco had immediately tensed when Ace was taken out of his sight and Chopper panicked inwardly. This man could take a beating and there wasn’t going to be anything he could do should the man decided to act up.

Instead, he shifted heavy point and offered his hand to help support the other. At first it looked like the offer was going to be rejected but Marco stood up and leaned into his side keeping his injured leg weight free for the most part.

They walked in silence to the main exam room, and once there Marco limped over to the table while Chopper turned and looked for the clotting salve. He didn’t find it right away, but instead found a cloth. A few minutes later he found the salve and a bowl that he then filled with water.

The table next to the bed had all the tools that he would need. He looked at Marco for permission to which the man nodded. Truthfully, Chopper didn’t feel comfortable trying to pull out the debris from the wounds, so he began with the easier wounds.

“Don’t worry about stitching them,”

“But,” Chopper protested.

“It would be a waste of materials once you pull out that bullet.”

He didn’t quite understand what the man meant, however he wasn’t going to argue with him. The material was getting harder and harder to come by with the no one wanting to supply doctors.  _ Maybe he knows something I don’t? _

It was easier to relax once he began to clean the wounds. The hand wound was the most worrisome, but after cleaning it up it was clear the wound was worse than it looked. A clean stab wound that went through the hand completely. Chopper flexed the fingers and checked the feeling, and there didn’t appear much of a problem.

The hand was cleaned and wrapped up and he moved onto the bullet wound. It was a graze along the arm and again it took only a couple of minutes to clean and bandage it.

“What happened?” Chopper asked.

“The pirates in town happened,”

Chopper nodded, he was stalling to keep himself from working on the leg. After thinking about it he realized that Ace was far too hurt for Doctorine to come help anytime soon. He grabbed the salve and opened it. Marco had apparently decided to clean his leg while Chopper was straightening things up. Gently he applied the salve, the blood flow had slowed which meant no vessel damage.

Marco raised an eyebrow as he reached for the local anesthetic. The needle went in clean, now they would have to wait for it to kick in. In a few minutes Chopper pressed down on the leg and got no hiss of pain so he reached for the tweezers.

“This might feel weird.”

“I can handle it, yoi.”

Chopper began to pick out the surface shrapnel first, dropping it into a petri dish. There was very little of it, so he hoped that meant the bullet was mostly intact. Once he was sure there was no more, he grabbed a magnifying glass to help him see the pieces in the wound. Like he had guessed the bullet had just embedded itself in the bone. A gentle pull told him that it was more than halfway in.

Thankfully the bone was strong which meant he didn’t have to worry that much about the bone splintering. He gripped the bullet in the tweezers and began to wiggle it to pull it out. Marco only grunted occasionally.

It took him a twenty minutes to get the bullet to the point where one sharp yank would pull it out.

“When you pull that out, move fast. My devil fruit is going to act up, yoi.”

_ Oh. He’s a fruit user... why didn’t he mention his powers? _

Chopper nodded and without warning he yanked.

Marco yelled out briefly before blue flames sprung to life over his injuries. The flames vanished and so did the leg wound.

“Are all of your wounds gone now?”

“Yes,” Marco was flexing his hand.

Unsure of what to do now that an hour and half of his work vanished. He was glad to know he hadn’t cause more damage with removing the bullet.

“Stay here, I’ll come back with something to drink and check on your friend.”

Marco nodded, “thank you, yoi.”

Chopper jumped off of his stool. He wasn’t sure if Doctorine would tell him anything, but he was curious as well. The usual silence of his home seemed oppressing, it was always after a tough case. A little further ahead he could hear the noises of Doctorine moving around with a speed that could only come with practice.

The door was open so Chopper took that as he was allowed inside. As expected it was chaos, but it was all focused on the prone boy on the table, who somehow looked worse than he did when he was found.

“Doctorine?”

“Oh, Chopper, good, hand me that scalpel. I need to release some of the air in his chest,” she said.

He grabbed the requested tool and she took it harsher than she usually did. A few seconds later a weird sound filled the room as blood trickled from the small wound in his chest.

“His lung was collapsed because...?”

“The air wasn’t allowing it to expand fully,” Chopper answered.

“Correct.”

Again Doctorine turned her focus to the patient and Chopper hopped up on the stool next to the tool table. Briefly he remembered he promised Marco a drink, but he could wait. This seemed like it was a touch-and-go operation.

Ace’s hair was matted down with sweat and his face was peaceful. Though his skin was pale and there was a purplish bruise forming on his abdomen.

“Internal bleeding?”

“Something must’ve gotten nicked during their escape.”

He wanted to know how she knew that.

“Hm, I don’t think his rib slipped, but there’s definitely an infection of the bone...there’s an infection from that puncture wound as well maybe tetanus...look systemic. Broken nose, that’s easy to fix. I’m worried about that organ damage, it might’ve affected his vision.”

“He’s going to be blind?” Chopper cried.

“There’s a chance, there's significant damage, if that’s from whatever drug they gave him he has no chance of survival. Though, the jaundice seems to be fading if I can trust that doctor’s word.”

Chopper frowned, “will he live?”

“Its up in the air. I have to get rid of those infections before I can even begin to work on the organ damage if I can even do anything about it. Thankfully there’s not many injuries, most of those have healed,” Doctorine wasn’t talking to him.

“Do you need my help?”

“No, I have to make specific medicine, you can come watch. How’s the bird?”

“Bird? Marco? I got the bullet out he healed himself. Devil fruit I think.”

“Good, good,” Doctorine mumbled. “Come to the room later, you were getting Marco something to drink?”

_ How does she know these things? _

Chopper nodded and scurried off to find a glass. At least he wasn’t taking bad news back, like they wouldn’t be able to fix him... just not very reassuring news like they knew how to try and fix him. For Marco’s sake Chopper hoped that Ace pulled through, the other man seemed to be very protective of the younger human.

* * *

Marco was leaning back in the bed, waiting for the small reindeer(?) to return with something to drink. His leg was still stiff. He felt  the flames as they worked under the skin to knit and form the bone back together.

He was exhausted, mentally and physically. It was rare that someone managed to get the upper hand on him, and was usually when he was at his low point: overworked, stressed, or in his over-protective mode. This time it had been all three and he hadn’t noticed the bullet until it was buried in his leg. Honestly, he hadn’t considered that they would have seastone bullets even though it was confirmed they had seastone cuffs.

It was his mistake plane and simple, but he wasn’t the one paying for it. His limp had increased the length that Ace had to be out in the cold and traveling. There was no way that it was the right thing to do in that situation. Not that he had much of a choice. He had felt awful running away and leaving Ace’s captors alive, but even he knew he had limits.

Never would he put revenge over the life of a family member.

Just as he was about to climb out of the bed and do some exploring the place he had been brought his den-den rang.

_ Why... Oh. Oops.  _ There was only one crew that had this snail’s number and he knew exactly why they called. He let it ring three times before he picked up.

“Marco?” Thatch asked.

_ Wonderful.  _ “Speaking, yoi.”

“You’re alive! In good health I hope?” The snail’s eyes narrowed.

“For the most part.”

“Meaning?”

He winced, Thatch was using the Brother Voice, “it’s complicated, yoi.”

“Uncomplicate it for me, I have to report to Pops you know,” Thatch spoke slowly.

Marco shrugged  before settling back into the bed. No one got off the hook when you had to be called because you missed two check ins.

“I found the people that took Ace-”

“And you went after them?”  _ Thatch is pissed... _

“I didn’t have a choice, yoi. They were going to move Ace and a doctor that was helping him out said that he wouldn’t survive the move,” he tried to keep his voice even.

The snail’s face turned into a worried grimace, “there’s a lot going on. Why would you trust a random doctor?”

“She said she knew Pops, I haven’t gotten a name, yoi.”

“Okay, so you have Ace then?”

Marco took a couple of minutes to respond, “yes. He was in a bad way when I found him. I haven’t gotten an update on him yet, yoi.”

The snail eyes grew sad, “we’ll be there in a day or two.”

“I’ll keep you posted, those people won’t find us for now.”

There was a raised eyebrow, “you didn’t kill them all?”

“It was between Ace’s life and revenge, yoi.”

While it didn’t perform the gesture, Marco knew Thatch was stroking his chin while he nodded.

“Keep us updated then. Pops was worried about you, we all were.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’ll see you soon, yoi.”

The phone clicked off but Marco knew that he wasn’t off the hook yet. Pops would ask him questions and the truth would go out, then his father would give him The Look and he’d feel bad about disobeying orders despite the knowledge that he saved Ace’s life.

Though The Look would go away after Pops considered all the alternatives and know that his son acted in good faith. The guilt wouldn’t be from that but the fact that he had let the situation go so far that he had to directly disobey the Captain’s Orders.

That’s when the reindeer (?) walked back into the room. A cup of water was held between his hooves and he was back to looking like a terrified woodland creature. Marco wondered if that was his personality or if his Phoenix was giving off some type of aura.

“You were on the phone, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“That’s fine,” he took a sip of the water he was handed, “how’s Ace?”

The kid looked like he was ready to bolt. Marco frowned, he’d have to go at this a different way since the confidence that the doctor (?) had while treating him vanished.

“I’m Marco, yoi. Who’re you?”

“Chopper!” Chopper replied cheerfully.

“Pleasure to meet you... Thank you for helping me, you might’ve saved my friends life.”

“And yours too! You would’ve bled out-” Doctor Chopper squeaked when he realized that he had spoke out of turn.

With any other pirate that would’ve been disrespectful, but Marco realized that he probably  _ would’ve  _ died. He really did take his powers for granted sometimes.

“How is my friend, yoi?”

Chopper had calmed down and was looking at him steadily, “Doctorine is still working on him. She says she knows how to treat him, but the infections are complicating things.”

“So he could still die?”

“Yes, but he’s got Doctorine helping him!”

Marco raised an eyebrow, “what is Doctorine’s name?”

“Eh? Its Doctor Kureha... most people call her a witch lady though...”

He blinked.  _ That woman is Kureha? She must be over 100 years old! Pops talked about her a long time ago... He saved her when he was a teen! _

Today was just full of surprises. Honestly, he couldn’t wait until things got back to normal and the most action they got was the monthly Marine attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill at this point, leave your thoughts below! Hope you enjoyed! Also there's a poll http://www.strawpoll.me/12784907 you guys should totally do. It'll go into affect for the next chapters. So choose carefully! Thank you in advance! Let me know if you ever want any of the time gaps filled in, I won't promise to write a chapter, but I'll answer it for ya'll.

**Author's Note:**

> We're at the bottom! Please leave your thoughts below!  
> AS A REMINDER TO MY READERS:  
> 1.) I am doing this for fun so I don't mean to offend anyone so I'm doing my research but if you have any suggestions or something is factually wrong feel free to tell me! Please.  
> 2.) Ace's condition is one that I made up using parts from several others, just because I don't think I could've written any of them the way that I wanted to portray Ace.  
> 3.) I am going to update this irregularly  
> Hey kiddies, mind finishing a poll for me? Goes into effect after Chapter 10 http://www.strawpoll.me/12784907


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